Aurora, the Princess of Another Dimension
by zachsaur94
Summary: After nearly being killed on her birthday, Aurora is sent by her parents, Queen Star Butterfly and King Marco Diaz, to Earth under the protection of Sam, a memoryless boy who saved her, to stay safe. As she learns with Glossaryck and Sam to use her magic wand and self-defense, Aurora sets out to find out who tried to kill her and help retrieve her friend/bodyguard's memories.
1. Birth of the Dawn

**Hey guys. As a disclaimer, I don't own anything belonging to Star vs the Forces of Evil. I also don't own the OCs in this fanfic, those belong to jgss0109 on Deviantart.**

* * *

The Birth of the Dawn

* * *

It was nighttime in the Kingdom of Mewni, with the light of the sun becoming brighter in the distance, hinting that it was on the verge of rising over the mountains. In the high tower of Castle Butterfly, some heavy breathing could be heard even from the courtyard. And in the royal bedroom, that heavy breathing was revealed to have been coming from Star Butterfly, now queen after having inherited the throne of Mewni from her mother.

Star had gone through a lot before this day. She had decided to end the long-lasting feud between mewmans and monsters after having befriended Buff Frog and his children and learning that there were some monsters that idolized her and her rebellious nature. This achievement was immortalized in the form of a tapestry in the Tapestry Room, which depicts her and her friend Marco surrounded by both fractions as she holds up her wand and Marco holds the flag that symbolizes their unity. Afterward, she and Marco got married at some time, making him the new King of Mewni.

Now they have made it to the next step in their lives together, for the reason Star was breathing so heavily is because she's pregnant and just ready to give birth. The only thing helping her ignore the pain was the fact that Marco, her beloved husband, was holding her hand to let her know he was here with her, giving her some comfort through all this.

Finally, with one more great push, Star let out a scream so painful, it was heard from all over the surrounding villages. And by the time the sun shined over the mountains, marking the break of dawn, the sound of a baby crying could be heard coming from the castle.

The handmaiden tasked with overseeing the birth picked up the baby in a baby blue blanket and smiled happily. "Congratulations, your majesties, it's a girl."

Pulling back the top of the blanket, the newborn was shown to have her father's tan skin and dark brown hair. On her cheeks were marks shaped like the sun. And when she opened her eyes, it was shown that they were the same color as her mother's.

With the handmaiden placing her newborn daughter in her arms, Star could only look joyfully at her little bundle of joy. "She's perfect." she said to her husband before turning to the handmaiden. "You can tell everyone else they can come in now."

The handmaiden wasted no time in doing just what Star told her to do and quickly opened the door, letting in everyone that was able to come over to see the newest addition to the family. Among them were Star and Marco's friends from both Earth and the other dimensions, Pony Head, Kelly and her boyfriend Tad, Johnny Blowhole, Headphone Jones and Lady Scarfs-a-Lot, Buff Frog and his own children, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Janna, Alfonzo and Ferguson, even Star and Marco's respective parents, Angie and Rafael Diaz and Moon and River Butterfly. Even River's whole Johansen family and the Magic High Commission were able to make an appearance.

Both River and his family were clearly excited to have a new member of the family and wasted no time in playfully roughhousing with each other, with River eventually shouting "Granddaughter!" joyfully.

Their ruckus would've woken up the baby had Star and Marco not managed to quiet down her father and his relatives. "Shh. Dad, do you wanna wake her up and scare her?"

"Oh." River realized and covered his mouth, the other Johansons following his lead and ceasing their playful fighting. "Sorry, Sweetheart. I'm just really excited to be a grandfather. I mean, me and my family haven't been this excited since my marriage to your mother followed by the day of your birth."

Star could only chuckle at her father's point. "Hehe, I know, dad." she sighed. However, the moment was cut short when she realized that some of her relatives were missing. "Hey Mom, where are Great Aunt Etheria, Uncle Heartrude, and all of your other relatives?"

"Oh Star, you know as well as I that they wouldn't have been alright with this." Moon replied shaking her head. "They're as the saying goes on Earth, old-school."

"How do we know that?" Star asked, not really wanting to believe that. She cared about every member of her family even though she wouldn't admit it.

"Think about it, Star, they didn't really approve of your marriage to Marco, who is a non-mewman. No offense, Marco." she said to her son-in-law.

"None taken." Marco replied, knowing what his mother-in-law's relatives were like from seeing it during the annual picnic between her family and River's.

"So it would make sense that they wouldn't really approve of you birthing a half-mewman child." Moon finished explaining to Star why her relatives didn't come over.

"But if they could just have the time to get to know Marco..." Star tried to protest, only to have her mother put a hand up to silently stop her from finishing her sentence, knowing that what she was trying to say wouldn't happen.

"Trust me, Star, some Butterflys just don't have what it takes to embrace something different that others do." Moon countered, knowing full well that she was one of the Butterflys that did have the courage. "Take me for example, unlike the rest of my family, I can actually tolerate the antics of your father and his family."

"She's right, Sweetheart. And it's because of that tolerance that you even exist. And now that tolerance has resulted in your own daughter existing as well." River supported coming up next to his wife.

River was soon met with a surprise hug from Marco's father Rafael. "And we thank you for that, your majesties. Because if not for you and Star, even our own familia wouldn't have gotten bigger." he said joyfully before putting the king down while his wife expressed how proud she is of her son. "Oh Marco, we're so happy you've made a family of your own."

"Thanks, Mom." Marco replied, showing how happy he was with his new life with Star before embracing both his parents in a group hug.

"So anyway, B-Fly," Pony Head interrupted, wanting to change the subject back to her bestie's newborn daughter. "What'cha gonna call your new bundle of joy?"

Star took a moment to think about this and looked at her sleeping baby daughter. Smiling at her child, Star was able to realize just what she wanted to name her. "I think I'll call her... Aurora, Aurora Diaz Butterfly."

"Now that sounds like a wonderful name." Marco said coming over next to her, clearly liking the name. "I think it suits her."

Coming over for a closer look, Moon put a hand on her granddaughter's cheek while looking at her with a smile, showing happiness for her newborn granddaughter, Aurora smiling back at her grandmother. "Welcome to the family, little one."

Suddenly feeling like she had the strength to stand again, Star wasted no time in getting out of bed and walking over to the balcony outside the room, receiving support from Marco just in case it was temporary. Coming to the edge of the balcony, the new queen saw that all of the citizens of the kingdom, both mewmans and monsters alike, were present to try to get a look at the newborn princess. Knowing what they wanted, Star wasted no time in holding her baby up high for all to see. This led to everyone down below to start cheering in celebration of the birth of the new princess. As Star and Marco's parents came out to join their children outside, a single ray of light came out of the rising sun and shined upon the baby, leading everyone to bow before their kingdom's new princess, Aurora Diaz Butterfly.


	2. The House of the Rising Sun

The House of the Rising Sun

* * *

The throne room was packed with both mewmans and monsters alike, waiting for the princess to arrive so the celebration could begin. Families from all over the kingdom were seen standing in this room on this special day, such as the Butterflys, who were here because Moon forced them to come, and the Johansens. On the high throne, Star and Marco both stood patiently for their daughter, with River standing at their side.

"I wonder what's keeping Aurora." Marco questioned, concerned about where his daughter was.

"Let's just be patient, Marco. I'm sure she'll arrive." River assured his son-in-law. "After all, me and my wife waited patiently for Star to arrive on her fourteenth birthday, so I'm certain Aurora will show up as well."

"I hope she gets here soon." Star said with concern. This is a special day for her daughter and didn't want it ruined in any way. "Everyone here is looking kinda bored from all this waiting.

Fortunately, everyone didn't have to wait any longer, because no longer than three seconds after Star had said that, the doors suddenly opened to reveal her mother coming in with a now-fourteen-year-old Aurora.

Her looks closely resembled that of her mother when she was that age. She had her hair down just like her mother did and wore an outfit that mostly resembled those of her mother's during her stay on Earth. However, there are many great differences between the two's looks. Aurora's dress was dark blue with yellow embroidery along the bottom of her skirt that resembled the rising sun and a picture of the rising sun on the front. She wore white wristbands and stockings with knee-high boots styled the same way as her dress. On her head was a five-pointed crown with small pink gems on each point and a small detail on the middle one. This crown was attached to an orange headband to keep it from falling off.

"Ah, jolly-good, dearie!" River cheered happily. "Where did you find her this time? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, I found her in the Tapestry Room looking at our ancestors again." Moon replied with a wave as they reached the stairs, which River returned with an accepting grunt, as Aurora has been known to spend time in there more than anyone else alive today.

But that was however put aside, as Moon then let go of Aurora's hand and went behind her to give a gentle push on her shoulder, letting her know it was time. Knowing her grandmother was right, Aurora took a deep breath to relieve her worries and wasted no time in walking up the stairs towards her parents. Moon smiled at her granddaughter as she went over to join the rest of her family in the House of Butterfly, her husband River deciding to do the same and stepped down to join his family in the House of Johansen.

With the deadpan expressions on their faces, it was quite obvious that all of Moon's relatives weren't really happy to be here to see this. And Moon's Aunt Etheria was quick to speak for the whole family on the matter. "Would you remind us why you had the royal guard drag us all here?"

"Because Aurora is your great-grandniece and you should show respect." Moon replied with a firm expression. "This is a special day for her."

"Moon, you know we always try to support your decisions," Etheria said, trying to sound sincere. "But it's hard to support your family when you married a Johansen and Star married a non-mewman." she finished with a deadpan tone.

"Aunt Etheria, I know you and the rest of the family question both me and Star's taste in men, but you should learn to tolerate it and let us live with our choices like Mother did." Moon said with a serious expression.

Fortunately, the argument was ceased when a voice was heard nearby. "Shh! The ceremony is starting!" the voice whispered.

The Butterflys looked to see that the voice came from a woman with shoulder-length green hair and brown eyes. She was seen wearing an elegant dark green dress with a high collar styled to look like it was made out of leaves and a light green pine tree on the front. Next to her was a man with short brown hair, green eyes, and a mustache and pointed goatee. He was wearing a dark green shirt with light green sleeves under a green coat with a high collar and similar dark green pants, a golden belt, and dark green boots. He also had golden tassel shoulder pads and a light green pine tree on the front of his shirt just like the woman. They were both accompanied by two children. One was a teenage boy with green hair and eyes and a slender build. He wore a pure white noble outfit with similar shoulder pads and a pine tree in the center, gray pants, and black boots. The other was a girl that looked to be younger than the boy and had green eyes and hair. She was wearing a dress that strongly resembled one of the dresses that Star wore in her youth, only with it being in different shades of green, having a green headband in place of a tiara, and a pine tree on the front like the other three. The Butterflys quickly recognized them as Lord Oak and Lady Juniper, and their children, Pine and Maple, the members of the House of Forest, a family of Mewni's nobles that work to protect the forests that surround the kingdom.

Moon gave a light bow of respect to Juniper so to apologize for her and her family's behavior. "Sorry about that, Lady Juniper."

Lady Juniper responded with a gentle nod. "It's alright. And I am glad to see you again, Moon. I think it's nice to see an old friend of my mother again." she said as she came and gave said old friend of her mother's a hug, despite it not being a Butterfly thing. But Moon knew well how much of a Forest thing it was, and decided to return it with a hug of her own. She had known Juniper ever since she was a little girl, and she and her mother Cherry Forest, the previous Lady of her family's house, were old friends, and the Forests have been one of the Butterflys most supportive and faithful noble families for as long as history can remember.

When that was done, the two families decided to turn their attention back to Aurora, who was waiting alongside her parents for their arguing to end, as they could hear it all the way from the throne and couldn't concentrate properly.

With the arguing over, Star turned back to her daughter while taking a big breath of relief before speaking. "Aurora, for as long as you can remember, you've been told about our family's strong connection with magic." she said gripping firmly on the wand. "Here is where I tell you they are true. The magic is strong in our family. My mother has it, I have it, our ancestors had it." She leaned forward a little closer to her daughter. "And you have it too. That is why, on your fourteenth birthday, you shall receive our family's greatest heirloom, the royal magic wand!" she declared holding the wand up high over her head, everyone cheering afterwards. Star then held out the wand for Aurora to take, smiling proudly at her daughter.

Gulping down her nervousness, Aurora took hold of the wand without a second guess, knowing that she couldn't back out of it. And as soon as it left Star's hand and found itself in Aurora's, the wand suddenly covered itself in orange flames, which Aurora jumped at in fright, only for it to disappear when she realized the flames weren't even hurting. Suddenly, two light orange angelic wings burst out of the flames, extinguishing them in the process before folding back, and allowing both Aurora and he parents to see what form it's taken now.

The wand's new form looked similar to its previous appearance, except its primary color was now orange and had a yellow heart beneath the head and blue tip with a yellow ring at the end of the handle. The head had a dark blue circle with white stars along the edge and the crystal star had now taken the shape of a ten-pointed sun. The two wings were seen still folded up. Another similarity between its new form and its previous form is a small crown on the top.

"Wow." Aurora said in awe at the wand's new appearance. "So, What do I do with it now?" she asked her mother.

"That's for you to decide." Star pointed out. "Though I advise trying to have fun but be responsible at the same time." she suggested before changing the subject. "So, any ideas for what you want to cast as your first spell?"

Aurora rested her chin on a hand and began to think about that. This was her first time using magic, and had a hard time settling on which kind of spell to cast. But after a short time thinking on the subject, Aurora finally had an idea. Turning around to face the audience, she raised the wand high over her head and spoke with a firm voice.

 _"SPARKLE DRAGON FIREWORKS!"_

In a flash of light, a crackling fireball shot out of the wand and flew across the throne room. The audience, startled at first, soon breathed a sigh of relief when it burst out the main doors and straight out the archway to the balcony. Concerned with what might happen, Aurora quickly bolted for the open doors, followed by her parents and the noble families.

They all made it to the balcony just in time to see the fireball rise up into the sky and explode, which everyone cheered for. Just then, they had their cheery expressions replaced with looks of shock when the explosion suddenly began to shape itself in the form of a fearsome dragon made of crackling fire. Letting out a mighty roar, the fire dragon began to circle back down to the town below, which made the townspeople scream and panic from seeing a burning dragon hurtling toward them. The dragon was just about to swerve out of the way when it suddenly exploded for real this time, just above said buildings, causing then to catch fire from the sparks that landed on them. The burning buildings and echoing screams could be seen and heard by everyone who watched from the balcony.

"Sorry, Mom." Aurora said with a cringing look on her face while holding the wand behind her back.

But her guilt was soon put aside, as she was caught off guard by the feeling of a hand gently rubbing against her hair. She turned to see that it was her mother, looking at her with a calm smile, surprisingly looking like she's not even mad. "It's okay, Sunshine, I messed up my first time." Star told her, remembering the whole incident. "In fact, it was that scenario that got me sent to Earth in the first place, where I met your father." she then pointed out. This made Aurora feel most of her guilt lift, knowing that she wasn't the first member of her family to mess up, even chuckling at her mother's detail about how she and her father met.

"But enough about that, we should head back inside to party. I'll have Manfred and the royal guards head out to put out the fires and calm down the masses." Star then decided.

With everyone nodding in agreement, they all turned to return to the throne room to carry on with the party to celebrate Aurora's birthday, leaving the burning incident behind then for the royal guard to fix.

The rest of the party went pretty well without further incident, as Aurora didn't even try to cast any other spell for fear it would end in disaster again. Everyone enjoyed both the cake and party games in peace, and everyone was shown to be having a good time.

When it was time for the presents, Aurora received a variety of different gifts from all the heirs and heiresses of all the noble houses, such as a rose flower pin from Rose Flowers, a ship-in-a-bottle from Pacifica Waterson, and a jewel-encrusted box from Gold Stone. Both Star and Marco were happy with the young lords and ladies behaving nicely toward their daughter, acting like the best of friends.

When it was time to open the present that the House of Forest got for her, Aurora could barely contain her joy when she opened it. For their gift was a bag of sunflower seeds.

"My favorite." she said shyly.

"It was Pine's choice." Maple confessed, which made her brother blush along with Aurora. They've known each other since they were young, and were made pretty close. And this made even Maple see Aurora as a big sister figure. Of course, this didn't stop her from teasing them with the idea that they both have romantic interests in each other, which they're quick to protest out of embarrassment.

* * *

Aurora was seen walking through the forest, accompanied by her best friend, Princess Pony Head, daughter of Star's bestie, now Queen Pony Head. Her daughter looked very much like her in her youth, except she was yellow with a dark blue mane and had sun-shaped marks on her neck. Also with them was Toggy, a pig-goat that was given to Aurora as a pet from her grandmother on one of her previous birthdays in memory of her dead pet Chauncey. Sometime during the party, Toggy alerted Aurora that he had some business to attend to, and she wasted no time in escorting him out the front gates and into the woods, Pony Head deciding to tag along when she saw them leaving.

Aurora was looking at a slip of paper in her hand as they walked along. It was an admission slip for Elfendor, an inter-dimensional academy that serves as the capitol of education for all royalty and nobility. Yesterday, her grandma gave her this letter to let her know that she had convinced the head of the school to let Aurora enroll in it, giving her this letter to let her know. This made there be no better time for Aurora to be ever excited than this. getting into one of the most well-renowned universities was considered one of the greatest honors anyone could ever ask for, and thanks to her grandmother, she too has gained a place in it.

"Can you believe that Grandma actually planned ahead of getting me a spot in Elfendor?!" she asked Pony Head with excitement.

"Oh, I believe it, girl." Pony Head replied with a smirk. "And do I got some more good news for you; My dad managed to get me a spot too!"

"Really?" Aurora asked, more excited than she was moments ago. She quickly responded by grabbing her friend by the neck and pulling her in for an embracing hug. "Hugs!"

"Okay, okay! Get a grip, A-Fly." Pony Head chuckled as she got out of Aurora's grasp. "By the way, do I have some more news for you. After the party back at the castle, I made us an activity list for us to do in order to celebrate your birthday our way. Are you ready to make some wiiiild choices?"

"Heck yes!" Aurora replied with excitement. "What's on the activities list? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well for one, I heard from Mom, who heard from a very reliable source, that someone bought the Bounce Lounge and reopened it!" Pony Head revealed with joy.

Aurora could only gasp in awe at the news. "The Bounce Lounge?" she breathed out. She had been told stories about the Bounce Lounge from her mother and how she used to party there in her youth. This made her want a taste of that kind of action one day. Unfortunately, the Bounce Lounge closed down long before she was even born, making that dream seem impossible. But now, that dream has started sounding like a reality.

It was impossible for Aurora to hold in a joyful squeal after hearing this news and instantly let it out as she grabbed her friend and pulled her in for another embracing hug, Pony Head not really minding this time and joined her friend in happily laughing to all the fun they plan to have.

Pony Head then squirmed out of Aurora's grasp to tell her something else. "Also, I've got something for you too." using her horn magic, she pulled out a necklace out of her neck. it looked like it had a thin lace and a gold pendent with the picture of her cheek mark on it. Taking hold of it, Aurora opened the pendent to reveal a purple crystal inside it.

"This crystal is actually special." Pony Head began explaining. "I got it from Mom and she told me it was a piece of the Tramorfidian crystal that was used to keep princesses from escaping St. O's."

Aurora shuttered upon hearing that name. She'd been told from her mother about what that place was like, and feared the idea of going there like her mother feared. Nonetheless, Aurora looked back at the necklace and smiled happily at the gift. Looking back at Pony Head, her friend knew what she wanted and came in for another hug.

Their moment however, was cut short when a small rock came out of nowhere and struck Aurora square in the head, causing her great pain. "Ow! Who threw that?!" she said as she let go of Pony Head and rubbed the back of her own.

The answer came when the bushes rustled and revealed it to be all the young lords and ladies, who had them completely surrounded and were holding small stones while looking at them with narrowed eyes.

Aurora sighed at this, knowing why they were here. While they did act friendly towards her around her parents, that wasn't the real case. For whenever they weren't around, the young nobles would act harshly towards Aurora and treated her like a freak due to the fact that she was half-human. The young princess wanted to alert her family about this bullying, but couldn't do it out of fear of what the other kids would do in retaliation and chose to endure it. The only noble family that didn't treat Aurora this way was the Forest, as they had the same ideals as her parents and grandparents about judging someone for who you are instead of what you are, proven by the fact that both Pine and his sister weren't here with the others. This makes the House Forest the only family besides her own that she can feel safe around.

"What do you guys want?" she groaned while Pony Head got into a defensive position.

"What do you think?" Rose replied in a mocking tone. "We heard all about how the retired queen Moon got you a spot in Elfendor."

"I for one find it insulting that they decided to let a half-breed freak like you into one of the most respected academies in the multiverse!" Pacifica scorned alongside Rose.

"Hey, watch your words!" Pony Head growled in her friend's defense. This isn't the first time that the young nobles have openly insulted Aurora's heritage.

"Do you really think this kingdom's gonna accept anyone like you as their new queen on the throne?" Gold asked Aurora in a mocking manner. "The only reason our families put up with you is because your mother is the current queen. They may act nice to you on account of you being the current princess, but that doesn't mean they like you. You see, unlike the rest of us, you're different because you're half human, and that makes you a freak. And the last thing any of the noble houses of Mewni want is having a half-breed freak on the throne while holding the royal wand."

No sooner had Gold said those words than he and all the young nobles picked up where they left off at pelting Aurora with stones, which the half-human princess responded to by using the wand to conjure up a magic shield to repel the incoming rocks, struggling to maintain it as they pressed on.

Pony Head saw the plight her friend was in and wasted no time in coming to her aid. Tapping into her magic, her horn glowed in a light shade of blue and pointed it in the direction of a nearby tree. A similar blue aura was soon covering the entire tree and small tremors occurred around it. It wasn't long before the tree found itself brutally yanked out of the ground and hovering right over Pony Head.

With the tree in her 'hands', Pony Head then got into a position similar to a baseball player ready to bat. And the next time the young lords and ladies started throwing stones after reloading, she was quick to react by swinging the tree like a bat, catching all the stones in its branches and flinging them all back at the shocked kids.

The noble snobs had a hard time dodging all the stones that were hurled back at them, feeling great pain with each rock that hit them. "Come on, guys, let's get outta here!" Rose cried in pain before she and everyone else made a run for it. Pony Head then twirled the tree above her before hurling it straight at the kids and crashing through more trees on impact. They were fortunate that Pony Head intentionally missed so they could run all the way back to the castle.

With that problem dealt with, Pony Head turned her attention to Aurora, seeing that she had already lowered her shield and was found sitting under another tree crouched down at the roots, sobbing into her hands with her tears leaking out over the sides.

Pony Head quickly floated over to her friend and tried to comfort her. "Hey A-Fly. You okay?"

"I'm...fine..." Aurora replied between sniffles.

"Look, A-Fly, you know I'm your best friend. And as your best friend, you know that I know that you can't keep living like this." Pony Head said with concern. "You gonna have to learn to stand up for yourself and fight back when those jerks come round."

"You know I can't do that, Pony head! I don't like violence!" Aurora bawled. It was true, unlike her parents and grandfather, Aurora was not a fan of violence in any way. Instead, she has always tried to find a solution to her problems in the form of diplomatic conversation. Needless to say, these rarely worked.

"Yeah-yeah, the old pacifist speech." Pony Head said in a deadpan expression, having heard it many times before. "But you know that those jerks will never listen to you, and there will be times when me and all your other friends won't be around to stand up for you. And it's those times where it's a good idea to know how to stand up for yourself."

"I know!" Aurora cried while fighting back tears. All this prejudice and mockery has been thrown at her for as long as she can remember. And Pony Head has always tried to convince her to ask her mom for combat lessons so she could defend herself. But no matter what, she always didn't have the courage to do so.

Their conversation was put aside when they suddenly heard the sound of someone screaming. They turned in the direction they came from and saw what looked like a dark-skinned boy jump out of the bushes, looking like he was startled by something. That something turned out to be Toggy, who wandered off sometime during the recent events and stumbled upon this person, startling him.

"Toggy!" Aurora gasped in shock, realizing that sometime during the whole scenario earlier, her pet pig-goat had wandered off. But she instantly put that aside and turned her focus to the boy that he scared out of the bushes, only for Pony Head to get between them and glow her horn in a defensive manner, showing her protective side again.

"Who in the multiverse are you? Some goon the other noble jerks sent to harass my bestie?!"

"I... don't think so!" he replied in fright of what the floating unicorn head could do to him. "I'm just woke up out in the woods and found myself here."

This however, didn't make Pony Head lower her guard, and she continued to point her horn at him in a threatening manner. Aurora however, having a diplomatic nature, decided to hear the boy out, and placed a gentle hand on Pony Head's neck to silently tell her to calm down. Pony Head of course, decided to respect her friend's wishes and finally let down her guard, but still looked at the boy with watchful eyes.

"What's your name?" the half-human princess asked in a polite tone.

"Sam." the boy replied.

"Why were you wandering these woods?" she then asked. "Some of these forests aren't really considered friendly."

"I don't really know what I'm doing in the woods." Sam answered, not really knowing himself. "I don't even know how I got here, or anything that happened prior. The first thing I remember is just waking up in a clearing and just wandering around 'til I heard a commotion in the distance."

"That must've been us you heard." Pony Head answered.

"Yeah, what was that about anyway?" Sam asked curious.

"Oh, just some aristocratic jerks expressing their opinion about A-Fly's parentage." Pony Head deadpanned.

"Okay." Sam accepted with a shrug before continuing. "Anyway, the strangest thing is that I can't even remember anything else about my past. Matter of fact, the only thing I can remember so far is my own name. I think I have amnesia or something."

"Hold on. If you have amnesia, how can you still remember your name?" Pony Head said confused.

"Uh, that's actually a good question. I don't really know." Sam answered, his face showing that he was serious. "So, I've been searching the woods for any possible clues to help me figure out how I got there and how I lost my memories."

Aurora looked at Sam with a compassionate look. She was taught to care about the problems of others by her parents and her grandmother, and was quick to lend a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation. And this time was considered no different.

"We can help you." she said openly.

"What?" Pony Head gasped in disbelief. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, A-Fly. You got enough to worry about with those upper-crust goofballs constantly painting a target on the back of your head. The last thing I think you need is helping some guy you just met and don't know much about with his problems."

"Pony Head, you should know me better than that. I never ignore someone or something in need of help." Aurora said with insistence, before recalling a previous memory that was seen as an example, bearing an innocent look in the process. "Like, remember that time a baby bird fell out of its nest and Katrina wanted to eat it to see what it tasted like? But I stopped her and put him back in his nest with his mother?"

Pony Head did remember that time and chuckled in response. "Ha, ha, yeah. That bird was cute too." she sighed before shaking herself to snap out of it. "But this is different, A-Fly."

Sam watched on as the two gently bickered with each other, with Toggy standing at his side. Suddenly, he noticed something seen from the corner of his eye and turned to see a tiny speck of light in the bushes nearby. His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

"Look out!" he cried as he ran over and gave the princess a hard push, forcing her to the ground as something came out of the bushes and zipped between then, only striking the tree instead. The three kids looked in fright at what they saw, for what stuck itself in the tree was a single arrow, and its height and position looks like it was intended to hit Aurora in her heart.

The kids looked in the direction the arrow came from to try and get a view of who the shooter was, but couldn't catch any detail in the darkness of the trees. Aurora then turned her attention back to the arrow and quickly pulled it out of the tree. Taking a look at it, she saw that the head was clearly an authentic arrowhead. bullying through archery would have been used with non-lethals, such as paintball-headed or rubber dart-headed arrows, but this one had a real arrowhead, and if it did manage to strike her heart, she would've died. This made Aurora stare wide-eyed with fright as she continued to look at the arrow. This wasn't simple bullying...

...This was an attempt on her life.

* * *

Back at the castle, both Star and Marco have been expressing worry about how long their daughter has been gone. She had told them what she was going out for and said that she'd be back, but now it's been far longer than they had expected.

"I hope she's okay." Star said concerned.

Their worries were soon faded when they saw their little girl coming through the door and into the throne room, accompanied by Pony Head, Toggy, and a boy they've never seen before.

"Oh Aurora, we're so glad you're alright!" Star said coming over to hug her daughter with joy and relief before turning their attention to the boy. "But who is this?"

"This is Sam." Aurora introduced. "A boy we met in the woods who suffers from severe amnesia."

"Nice to meet you, Sam." Marco greeted with a bow before noticing the arrow in Aurora's hand. "Aurora, where'd you get that?" he asked with concern.

Aurora looked at the arrow for a brief moment and let out a sad sigh. "I got it out of a tree after it was fired at me by an unknown assailant." Aurora answered, leaving out the bullying that took place before. This made her parents gasp in shock at what almost happened to their little girl. "Luckily, Sam managed to push me out of the way before it could strike me in the heart." she then informed.

That was enough to make them breath a sigh of relief and turn to face Sam. "Thank you, Sam, we owe you for that." Marco said with a bow.

"You're welcome, your majesties." Sam replied with a bow of his own.

With that done, both Star and Marco returned to their daughter with concerned looks. "Aurora, I think it's best you return to your room while we discuss this." Star suggested. Understanding the situation, Aurora gave a nod to show it as she handed her father the arrow and turned to leave the throne room, with Pony Head, Sam, and Toggy going along.

"We need to find who did this and make sure they receive proper punishment for this outrage." Star said determined, angry that someone would make an attempt on her little girl's life. "But we first have to find out what to do to protect Aurora from any further attempts." she then said in a calmer manner.

"We may need to consult Glossaryck on that." Marco suggested, despite how annoying he found the little blue man. "He may know what to do."

* * *

Aurora had decided to take a stroll through the courtyard en route to her room with her friends, with Pony Head continuing to look at Sam with distrusting eyes.

Sam however, didn't seem to notice, as he was focused on a boy who was talking with what looked like one of the knights of the castle. "Hey Aurora, what're those guys doing?"

Aurora took a look to who Sam was talking about and saw who it was. "Oh, that's just one of the castle squires talking with the knight in charge of the fencing games." she explained. "He must be trying to enter so he can be one step closer to becoming a knight."

"Fencing games, that actually sounds cool." Sam said interested. "Maybe I should enter it for fun."

"What?!" Pony Head said in disbelief before chuckling. "Sure, go ahead, knock yourself out." she then dared, certain he would get his butt kicked easily.

With that said, Sam wasted no time in heading over to the knight in charge of the games to try to enter, much to Aurora's worry. "Hey, can I have a try?"

The knight looked at the boy with a confused look before finally giving a shrug. "Why not?" he said before turning around to pull a fencing sword from the weapon rack, which he tossed to Sam and watched him struggle to get ahold of if before finally getting a grasp on the sword's handle. "Now fencing is simple; you use this one-handed sword to either attack your opponent or block your opponent's attacks without using your free hand, except when you want to use it to hold your sword instead. And in order to win, you have to disarm your opponent." the knight explained.

"Sounds simple enough." Sam said as he picked up an empty knight's helmet and put it on before getting into position.

With that said, the knight wasted no time in beginning the fight and prepared to strike at Sam, which Aurora watched with fright of what could happen, and Pony Head watched with interest with what could happen. But to everyone's surprise, Sam was able to successfully block the knight's attack, move his way around him, and with one mighty swing of his sword, hit the knight's own sword with such force that it was easily knocked out of the knight's hand and sent straight towards the open field, impaling deep into the ground. This apparently caught the knight and the squire, Aurora and Pony Head, even Star and Marco, who were watching from a nearby tower, by surprise.

"Sam, where in Celestia's name did you learn to fight like that?" Aurora asked in shock about what she just saw.

"Oh." Sam replied, realizing what he just did. "To be honest, I haven't really got the slightest idea." he answered honestly.

Up in the tower, Star and Marco, having just recovered from seeing the newcomer demonstrate his quick skill with both sword and melee, turned their attention to the Magic Instruction Book, which sat on a large pedestal. Star knocked on the book like a door, and in an instant, the book opened to a certain page to reveal Glossaryck, sitting in a lotus position while looking at the queen with a deadpan expression.

"At your service, milady." he said with a bow.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Glossaryck." Star said in a dismissive tone with a wave, not really wanting to do this and instead just get to the point. "Look, there's a serious problem that just happened today."

"Yes, the attempt that was made on Aurora's life. I know that already. Word spreads faster than you realize." Glossaryck replied.

Star was left stunned at the fact Glossaryck already knew that, but decided to shake it off. "Anyway, we plan to hunt down the vermin responsible for that, but we need to first think of a way to ensure Aurora is protected from any further attempts like this while we're doing that. We came to you to see if you had any good ideas to do that."

"You could send her to another dimension where I can train her to handle the magic of the wand. I think Earth would be the best option." Glossaryck suggested. "It may be the one place that can be considered the safest of havens for her until this blows over. I think it would also be a good idea to have someone you trust accompany her there with us as a bodyguard. Maybe Sam."

Star and Marco both felt hesitant to send Aurora to Earth, Marco the most. He's told Aurora many things about his home dimension and helped her learn basic things about it. But with all his new responsibilities as both Star's husband and the King of Mewni, he never found any time to take Aurora there to visit his parents even once. But knowing Glossaryck, he was probably right, maybe it is the best decision to ensure Aurora's safety.

* * *

It had just become nighttime, and Aurora was shown sleeping peacefully in her bedroom, Her nightwear being mainly a pink nightgown. All was quiet until the door suddenly opened slowly. Afterwards, Star's head peeped into the room, revealing it was her opening the door. Creeping silently towards Aurora's bed, the queen looked at her sleeping daughter with a look of guilt for doing this.

Breathing a sigh, she put a gentle hand on her forehead and rubbed softly. "Aurora, wake up, dear." she whispered.

The young princess gave a slightly annoyed groan before drowsily opening her eyes and seeing it was her mother who woke her up. "Mother?" she said, her drowsiness suddenly gone.

"Listen, Aurora, I need you to pack up some of your things and meet me, your father, and Sam in the garden." Star instructed, much to her daughter's confusion to why. Two servants then came in, one carrying an empty chest while the other helped Aurora with packing up the things her mother wanted her to bring. When it was all done, Aurora got dressed and followed her mother down to the garden, where her father and Sam were waiting for her, with the two servants carrying the chest behind her.

"So Mom, what's going on here?" Aurora asked with confusion, still not knowing what's going on.

"With what just happened in the woods, we decided that it's best that you be sent to a safe place until we root out the one who tried to kill you." Star began explaining and letting Marco finish for her. "That's why we had some of the staff pack up some of your things. We chose to send you to Earth to live with your other grandparents for a while."

This was clearly a shock to Aurora. Since she was young, she had heard stories from her father about his home dimension, even learned a few things about it that are quite different from Mewni, such as its psychology, use of bike petals, and that fortune cookies don't really predict the future. But never in her life has she gone there, and feared that she wouldn't know how to properly fit in.

"No, no, no. I refuse to go!" she protested out of fear.

"I understand why you don't wanna go, Sweetie." Marco responded understanding. "But after what happened today in the forest, Mewni can't be considered safe for you until we find out who it is that tried to kill you." he explained while Star came over and crouched down to be at eye level with her daughter. "Listen, Sweetie. We don't want to do this to you, but it's only so we don't lose you." she said in a caring fashion.

Aurora gave a sigh, knowing her parents were right, and nodded to show she understood. Her father then pulled out his pair of dimensional scissors and cut open a portal to Earth. Afterwards, he then puts them in her daughter's hand.

Aurora looks in awe at her father's scissors, confused to why he would give them to her. "Dad, your scissors."

"Think of it as my gift to you, my little sunflower." Marco said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just be sure you use it wisely." he then warned.

With that said, Aurora then took a relieving breath and walked straight through the portal, Sam following soon after with the heavy chest.

* * *

At the Diaz household, a portal opened above the front yard, with Aurora hopping out and landing on her feet, Sam coming out soon after. The princess then took a look for the first time at the dimension she was told her father came from. and lightly shook with fear of what was to come.

Swallowing her nervousness, she went up to the door and gave it a gentle knock. Her sadness was quick to leave when the door then opened to reveal her grandparents Angie and Rafael Diaz.

"Aurora, it's so nice of you to come visit us." Angie said joyfully while giving her granddaughter a hug. Rafael doing the same with Sam in order to greet him.

"Yes, Marco called us to let us know you were coming. And after remembering that it was your birthday today, we also worked to make you a cake of our own for when you arrived." he then said, with Angie leaving and coming back with said cake in hand to show her.

Smiling at her grandparents' hospitality, Aurora wasted no time in coming in with then as they helped Sam bring the heavy chest full of her stuff inside. Afterwards, they were then heard sitting down at the table, possibly to eat the cake as the sun began to rise and shined upon the house.


	3. A Great Place

A Great Place

* * *

Aurora was shown sleeping in her bedroom, the same one where her father slept in when he was living on Earth. Surprisingly, she didn't transform it into a tower like her mother turned hers onto one when she first came to Earth, most likely in order to not draw any attention to whoever it was that tried to kill her.

Aurora finally began to stir and woke up yawning to a new day. She got up and changed from her pajamas to one of her other outfits she brought with her to Earth. This one was a light green sleeveless dress with a picture of a pepper on its front, along with pink pantyhose and white boots with red details. She then went to brush her teeth in the bathroom, eat breakfast, and get her stuff ready for school. At school, she was shown studying math in Miss Skullnick's classroom, Skullnick shown to still be in the body of a troll. Finally, Aurora was walking home with Sam after another simple school day.

However, as soon as they entered the Diaz household, the smile Aurora had been carrying the entire time instantly faded away and replaced itself with a look of sorrow. Sam takes notice of this as the young princess sadly walks to her room, closing the door behind her. This worries Sam, making him wonder what could be troubling his friend. It had been happening for a week now, and everytime he and her grandparents tried to entertain her, her smile always faded away afterward.

"She's been like that for a while now." he heard Mr. Diaz point out. "We try to use all the things we did with her mother to put a smile on her face, but after a while, it shortly fades away again."

"I wish we knew what was making her so unhappy." Mr's. Diaz wondered at her husband's side.

Deciding to figure it out for them, Sam went upstairs to Aurora's room and slowly opened the door. Looking around, he saw her sitting at her desk looking at a small model of Butterfly Castle, giving off sad sighs as she did so with her chin touching the desk.

"Hey, Aurora?" Sam calmly called as he came over. "Is everything alright?"

Aurora lifted her head and started acting in a poorly calm manner. "Oh, sure, everything's fine. You and my grandparents don't have to worry about anything. It's not like I miss my home on Mewni or anything."

That last line made Sam finally realize what's been going on: Aurora was homesick. In a way, he knew what that was like, as he has no memories of his own home or where said home is. Not wanting to see his friend in this emotional struggle, he decided to do something about this and help her adapt to her new life on Earth.

"I have an idea of what we can do today. How about we take a stroll around Echo Creek and see the sights?" he suggested.

But Aurora, feeling that a walk around town would only make her feel more homesick, was quick to refuse. "No thank you, Sam. I appreciate the offer, but I don't think I should." she said politely.

Sam however, was not going to take no for an answer. "Oh, come on." he insisted grabbing onto the princess' arm to pull her out of her chair. "We'll just take a walk around town and see some of its many landmarks. And maybe you'll see something that'll make you feel like you're back on Mewni already."

Seeing the insistence in his face, Aurora could tell that her friend/bodyguard wasn't going to back down from this. So she gave a defeated sigh and reluctantly gave in. "Alright."

With that said, Sam quietly escorted Aurora out of her room and out the house to take a calming stroll around their new home in Echo Creek, Angie and Rafael looking out the door and waving at them with smiles.

* * *

Their first stop was at the park. At first look, it was quite clear not much had changed. The Echo Creek Mud Pits were still in business, the dog space was quite alive, and everyone was happily enjoying themselves.

"Isn't this nice?" Sam asked with attempted excitement, trying to help cheer up Aurora. "It's like the town has its own little forest within it. You can enjoy the sunny skies, skip stones in the lake, and what I think is the best part, none of those jerks in Mewni's nobility are here to pick on you."

That last detail was apparently enough to lift Aurora's spirits a little and help her manage a smile. "Yeah, I guess that's a good thing." she said calmly under her breath.

Their calm moment was soon halted however when they heard the sound of a twang and a thud. Curious, they follow the sound towards some bushes, which they part in order to see what made the sound. They saw that it was coming from arrows being fired at targets by the Archery Club, most likely practicing for an upcoming tournament.

While Sam's gasp from seeing this was more out of surprise, Aurora's was more out of fear. Upon seeing the arrows hit the bullseyes, she had a flashback of the time when the arrow almost struck her heart had Sam not pushed her out of the way. The memory of that terrible moment caused Aurora to faint from the shock, something that Sam caught onto.

"Aurora!" he cried as he caught the fainted princess in his arms. Concerned for his friend, he worried about her before looking back at the archery going on, making him realize what made her faint. He started seeing this trip to the park as a bad idea and quickly carried his friend away to the next stop on his trip to try and cheer her up.

* * *

The second stop in Sam's planned trip was the local pet store, where they had a large variety of cute animals, such as rabbits, puppies, kittens, hamsters, and even baby monkeys.

Aurora found herself full of happiness at seeing all the adorable animals, and even tried her hand at feeding some of the bunnies. "Here, little guy." she said with sparkling eyes and cuteness in her voice as she held out a piece of celery for them. At first none of the bunnies came over, but then one with snow white fur gained the courage to slowly hop over and take a nibble at the celery. Its nose twitching as it ate made Aurora's heart swell with joy.

"Aw." she cooed.

After that, Aurora started wandering around to see what other creatures the store kept. Her wanderings eventually led her back to the register, where she would bear witness to a cute little puppy being purchased by a woman for her little girl.

"Oh, thank you, Mommy!" the little girl said happily to her mother as she cuddled with her new puppy. "You're welcome, Sweetie." her mother replied.

Aurora found herself frozen from seeing that, her eyes looking like they were staring into space. It was because this sight reminded her of the time when her grandmother gave her Toggy on one of her birthdays, and how she would cuddle with him like that sometimes. This memory caused Aurora's smile to vanish and her homesickness to resurface.

Sam was happily looking at the snakes and lizards before noticing Aurora standing in a daze. "Aurora?" He quickly came over to find out what's wrong with her now, and soon saw the little girl and her mother walking out with the new puppy in her arms. This made him realize what was happening, seeing this brought back memories and reminded Aurora of home. This visit to the pet store wasn't working either, much to Sam's disappointment.

Not giving up, he took Aurora by the arm and dragged her to his next choice.

* * *

The next stop was revealed to be a restaurant, which Sam already managed to get Aurora and himself a table at. Aurora was excited to get some food in her stomach, as she hasn't eaten since this morning. But after looking at the contents on the menu, she found herself bearing a look of disappointment when she saw only seafood dishes on it. Looking around, she noticed the waiters were dressed like pirates. This made her realize this was that pirate-themed restaurant her father once told her about, the Salty Barnacle Club, which meant that seafood was the only food that was available here.

This made Aurora give a disappointed sigh and fold up the menu, her unhappiness not going unnoticed by Sam. "Aurora, what's wrong?"

"You may not have known this, Sam, but I'm not at all a fan of seafood." the princess replied with a sigh as she rested her head in her hands.

Seeing that this failed, Sam decided to try the next stop... after he paid for his meal of course.

* * *

Their final stop was a golf course called Chibi Golf, which Sam was shown having a good time while Aurora was feeling a bit uncomfortable, as some of the holes had structures that resembled medieval castles.

When they came to the next hole, Aurora couldn't believe her eyes. The castle structure was an accurate replica of Butterfly Castle back on Mewni. Seeing this made her finally snap, and she gave a loud wail of anger and violently thrust her golf club into the ground, something that the other golfers who heard her cry gasped in alarm from seeing this.

"Hey, you two! Get out of here!" the golf manager shouted after seeing the princess damage the golf course.

The next thing they knew, Aurora and Sam were standing outside looking at the now-closed gate to the golf course, having been kicked out due to Aurora's behavior.

"Well that's just great, Aurora." Sam began scolding. "I brought you here to help you have a good time and you get us kicked out!"

"Oh, shove it, Sam!" Aurora shot back. "I know you had good intentions, but nothing you've shown me is working!" she then listed down all the things that happened. "The park had the Archery Club there today, which reminded me of my near-death experience and made me faint from shock. The pet store only reminded me of the good times I had back home with Toggy and made me start missing him. The restaurant you picked had only seafood, which I don't like. And finally, this place had an exact replica of my home castle on Mewni. If anything, this tour you set up has made me even more unhappy with being here!" she whined grabbing the sides of her head.

Sam could only remain angry with her for feeling that way. "I took you on this tour to help you get your mind off of Mewni!" he scolded. "You can't keep whining and complaining over every single detail you see that reminds you of home!"

"It's not...that..simple, Sam!" Aurora snapped back. "I have been ripped from my own home because of an attempted assassination. My mom practically banished me here to protect me. I now have to abandon the life I've known since the day I was born!" at this time, tears started to form in her eyes, showing how much it hurts to confess her pain. "Do you know what that's like?!"

Sam looked at Aurora for a moment before giving a sigh of disappointment, in disbelief that Aurora had already forgotten about his amnesia. "Aurora, I do know what that's like because I don't even remember what my life was like before I met you." he began explaining. "I don't even remember my own home, and in a way, that makes me homesick too. But you still have your memories of home, and right now, it's hurting you more than it hurts me."

Aurora, finding herself at a loss for words, remarked how she agreed to help him find his lost memories. "That's right, I promised that I'd help you remember your past."

"But before you help me, you first need to help yourself." Sam replied.

This conversation left Aurora speechless, making her realize how childish she's been for thinking about only her own problems. More tears started streaming from her eyes before she embraced Sam in a hug, sobbing as she did so. "I'm sorry, Sam." she apologized.

Sam calmly returned her hug and forgave her. "It's okay, Aurora, you just need to remember that we're here for you, both me and your grandparents."

Aurora smiled at his comment, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then she decided to ask him something. "Can I ask, why did you accept my parents' request to be my bodyguard while we were here?'

"Because in my mind, it was an offer that gave me more than just a chance to find my past." he replied. "It gave me a purpose in life."

Aurora found herself speechless once again before smiling and continuing their hug. When they broke it up, they decided to start walking home for dinner. But on the way, Aurora realized something.

"You know, we can still stop by the museum. I heard from school there's a perfectly preserved Triceratops skeleton on display."


	4. Sam and Glossaryck's School

Sam and Glossaryck's School for Pacifist Princesses

* * *

It had just become morning in Echo Creek, and Sam was shown to still be sleeping in the guest bedroom that once served as Star's bedroom years ago during her time on Earth. He soon let out some groans, meaning he was just starting to wake up. And when he slowly opened his eyes a little, the first thing he didn't expect to see was Aurora looking down at him with an euphoric smile on her face.

"SAM!"

Sam yelped in fright and stumbled out of bed from seeing his friend up in his face. He managed to pick himself up so he could face his friend. The outfit she was wearing today consisted of an orange tank top with a picture of a sun on it, dark blue shorts, and yellow sandals.

"Uh, morning, Aurora." he said still feeling drowsy but also confused as to why she would be in his room at this hour. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Aurora continued smiling and reached behind her back to show Sam her reason for being here this early. it was a black book with the Butterfly family crest in the center and a variety of different shapes at all the edges. "Glossaryck gave me this book as a gift." she told him. "It's called 'Butterfly, A History.' It's a book about all the past queens and their history!"

Sam bore a depressed look from this as he knew what was coming next. Giving a sigh, Sam listened to Aurora chatter euphorically about the book's contents, knowing she wouldn't stop talking about it anytime soon. He was shown wearing the same bored expression as he listened to Aurora's ramble everywhere they went for the day, such as in the bathroom to brush their teeth, in the dining room to have breakfast, on the bus to school, and in the cafeteria during lunch hour.

It was when they got home that Aurora reached the page of one of her most favorite Queens. "And this page tells of Queen Etheria, the Knight. So named because she was the first queen to pick up a sword and learn the arts of swordsmanship." She started fawning over the famous warrior queen. "She was my greatest idol growing up."

Sam bore a look of surprise hearing that. For as long as he's know her, he's learned that Aurora is a pacifist, and now he learns that she idolizes a warrior queen. Even he can see the irony in this situation. "Um, excuse me. But why would a pacifist princess idolize a warrior queen?"

That question made Aurora see the irony in her hero worship and made her blush with embarrassment. "One thing has nothing to do with the other!" she says turning her head before getting up off the couch. "I'm gonna go take a shower." she says walking up the stairs.

Sam looked at her friend with a smile and rolled eyes, finding his latest discovery about Aurora's interests somewhat amusing. And this left him vulnerable when a certain little blue man made his presence known to him.

"Hello, Sam."

Sam jumped at the sound of Glossaryck's voice and seeing him appear next to him without warning and fell off the couch. This was the second time someone startled him today. "Dude, what is this, Startle Sam Day?!"

"Sorry 'bout that." Glossaryck apologized., though his voice didn't really sound sincere. "But I needed to talk to you about some urgent matters."

"Such as?" Sam asked.

"Well, me and Marco's parents just had a meeting with Star and Marco via the magic mirror." Glossaryck began explaining. "Marco asked how Aurora was settling in. Angie said she was doing fine. Then Star asked me how her training with the wand and learning self-defense from you was going. I hesitated on that and told her it was going along smoothly."

"Uh, doesn't that technically count as a lie?" Sam asked with concern.

Glossaryck just shrugged in response. "Kinda, but it won't be for long. You see, I decided to pick tomorrow to start Aurora's training. I'll be teaching her how to use the wand for combat purposes, and you'll be teaching her self-defense with hand-to-hand combat."

"Seriously?" Sam said unsettled, completely unprepared for this.

"Yes, seriously." Glossaryck narrowed his eyes. "Sam, need I remind you why I requested that you accompany me and Aurora on Earth. Not just to protect her, but also to teach her how to defend herself in situations where she doesn't have the wand or you to do just that."

Sam put some thought into this. Yes, Aurora is his best friend, and yes, he wants her to be safe. But he also knows that she doesn't like fighting for any reason. On the other hand, Glossaryck did have a point. There would eventually come times when he wouldn't be there to do his job. So maybe teaching Aurora hand-to-hand combat could be considered a good idea.

After some time, Sam finally caved in. "Alright." he said to the little blue man.

* * *

The sun was shining over Echo Creek the next morning, and Aurora was sound asleep in bed. She was just starting to stir and slowly opened her eyes, only for the first thing to see in the new day was Sam looking down at her with a smile, just like she did with him last morning.

"Hey Aurora."

Aurora cried in surprise at seeing her friend in her room and stumbled out of bed. "Sam, what are you doing here?" she said picking herself up. "I know you didn't like it when I startled you when you were waking up. So why would you do it to me?"

"Sorry, Aurora, I didn't mean to." Sam apologized. "But I was told to wake you up because Glossaryck decided to finally start your training." he explained. "So get dressed and meet us in the backyard." he advised walking out the door so Aurora could do just that, while Aurora gave a soft groan of irritation, showing she wasn't ready for this day to come.

* * *

Sam, Glossaryck and Aurora were now standing in the backyard with a larger teddy bear with them. It had canary yellow fur with a white snout and belly and beige ears and button eyes. Aurora was wearing a new outfit meant just for this occasion. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a pink ribbon and she wore her pink headband and wore her wristbands. She was dressed in a light blue sleeveless shirt with a boxing glove print, pink sweatpants with white leggings, and blue tennis shoes.

"Okay, we decided to start with simple fencing." Glossaryck began explaining. "Do you remember all the rules of fencing?" he asked the princess.

Aurora only looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "Um... no." she said guilty.

"Okay, let me go over it briefly;" Glossaryck deadpanned. "Fencing is basically a sport version of swordfighting. You battle each other using non-lethal swords and get points for each contact you make on your opponent with said sword."

Sam then came in and tossed a wooden sword to Aurora so they could start the practice part of the lesson. Aurora manages to grab hold, but almost fell backwards due to the weight of it. When Sam tried to redo the toss, she missed it entirely and got hit in the head, leaving her temporarily dazed before falling down unconscious.

Sam decided to put fencing on hold and instead try teaching close combat. He positioned the teddy bear in front of Aurora to get the lesson prepared. "Okay, for this lesson, we're just gonna start with a simple punch." he explained coming over to his friend and pushed her closer. "So just ball your hand into a fist and thrust it at the bear."

Aurora only looked at the teddy with a concerned expression before following Sam's instructions. However, when the time came to land a punch to her target, she only gave it a gentle tap with her knuckles, something that Sam and Glossaryck facepalmed in response to.

"You're gonna have to do it a lot harder than that." Sam specified to his friend.

Aurora however, only continued to look concerned and turned to tell her friend, "I don't wanna do this, guys." she whined, still feeling uneasy about taking these lessons.

"Look, Aurora, I know this doesn't feel right to you," Glossaryck tried to comfort her. "But it's like your friends said, there are going to be times when they're not around to protect you and you have to fight your own battles." He knew this would be hard for Aurora to do, but knew her friends had a point about the situation.

Aurora gave a sigh of defeat, knowing that Glossaryck was right about her friends' views, and went to try again. This time she did manage a hard punch, but her fist sank deep into the teddy before being pushed back and hit her square in the face, making her stumble backwards and fall to her back. She didn't have time to respond when the bear leaned forward and landed right on top of her, pinning her underneath it.

"This may be a little harder than we first thought." Sam said with a deadpan look, Glossaryck slightly nodding in agreement. "Next!"

Glossaryck decided to have a go at teaching Aurora attack spells with her wand. "Okay, just use any kind of spell you can think of as an attack." he instructed.

Aurora took some thought on this and held her wand at the bear, letting a small beam shoot out and strike it, being enveloped in a white light. Sam and Glossaryck looked on with eager faces to see the results while Aurora looked with a concerned expression. When the light cleared, the two mentors' faces changed to looks of disappointment, for the bear was shown now being surrounded by flowers, Aurora lowering her head in shame for her failure.

And so it went; every lesson Sam and Glossaryck gave Aurora usually ended up with the princess getting hurt and sometimes pinned underneath the bear. However, over time Aurora soon showed an improvement in her training. She soon became able to manage the swords and mastered the basics of fencing, she became able to land good punches and kicks on the bear without hurting herself, and was able to think of spells that could make excellent attacks. And when Aurora's training improved, Glossaryck then used his magic powers to make it be a bit more difficult. Sometimes he would make the bear a bit heavier to make it harder to shove or use his telekinetic powers to move the bear so it would be harder to hit. And other times he would make it come to life with a desire to give a tight embrace to the person in front of him... All to improve Aurora's training.

* * *

After an unknown amount of time, Aurora's training for today had concluded in the late afternoon. At this time, Aurora had become proud of herself and how far she's come in her training.

"I can't believe how far I've come!" the princess praised her accomplishment before telling Glossaryck, "Come on, Glossaryck, let's see how well I can do at level six."

But Glossaryck didn't believe she was ready for that level yet. "No, I think level five is just about far we should go for now." he denied. "Look, you've gotten better at using the wand in basic combat, so that's all that should matter right now."

"What?" Aurora slightly whined. Normally Aurora wouldn't protest due to not liking violence and instead respect Glossaryck's decision. But at this time, she's become so confident in her skills she feels she can take on more. "Come on, Glossaryck. It's just a teddy bear, what could go wrong?"

"Now Aurora, you should know to respect your mentor's decision." Glossaryck said sternly, narrowing his eyes at his student. And Aurora, looking a bit timid from seeing his serious expression, calmly backed down.

"Yes sir." she sighed.

* * *

It had just become nighttime, and everyone everyone had gathered inside to have dinner. Angie had made everyone taco soup, which everyone found delicious. After dinner, everyone went to the bathroom to brush their teeth, wash their faces, and finally curled up in bed, concluding the day.

Suddenly, Aurora opens one of her eyes and surveys her room. She silently gets up and turns to the spellbook, snoring being heard from it telling her that Glossaryck was sound asleep. She got up out of bed and crept down the hall and down the stairs and finally out the back door to the yard. There she saw the bear exactly where Glossaryck left it. Aurora gives a confident smile as she raises her wand towards the bear.

"I'll show Glossaryck I can handle it."

"Aurora." a voice silently called out, something that completely startled the princess just as she fired a magic blast from her wand. She turned swiftly to see that it was Sam. Apparently her silent sneak down the hall wasn't silent enough for Sam to not hear her, and made him investigate what was going on only to find his friend outside at this hour. "What are you doing?"

Aurora never got the chance to answer before a sharp growl was heard. The two turned in its direction to see the bear glowing a green aura, and soon started becoming less plush and more frightening. Soon the bear got up and showed it's now-monstrous appearance, giving an authentic grizzly roar at the two teens.

"What did you do?!" Sam asked with fear in his voice from seeing the killer teddy bear.

"I don't know!" Aurora replied with the same fear in her voice. "I think when you startled me, I lost focus with my spell and must've accidentally raised the difficulty level higher than what I intended." she theorized as she dodged the swipes the bear gave with its paws. "I think this is the kind of training for level eleven!"

"Well, we better fix this quick before it wakes up and destroys the neighborhood!" Sam recommended, with Aurora agreeing on the matter. "Right, and we better keep it away from the house so my grandparents will be safe." With that, the two finally regrouped and got into battle stances, ready to engage in this war with the killer teddy bear.

Aurora's worries however, were not really all that much, as her grandparents Angie and Rafael were shown to be fast asleep, looking like they can't even hear the noise coming from outside. It's been theorized that due to Star and Marco once fighting monsters often in the backyard back in their teen years, Marco's parents grew accustomed to the sound of fighting and managed to sleep peacefully through it.

The bear swung its paw at Sam, but he managed to jump away from it and got under its face and deliver a swift kick to the chin, sending the monster ursine stumbling backwards and falling on its back against the fence and breaking it.

"Sam, give me a boost!" Aurora ordered. Sam did as he was told and put his hands together. Aurora put a foot on them and he lifted he up and shot her into the air. The princess spun around before pointing her want at the bear with courage in her eyes.

" _BURNING_ _PHOENIX BLAST!_ "

A magical blast shot out of the wand in the form of a burning phoenix. The firebird gave a sharp screech before striking the killer teddy bear and causing it to burst into flames, the burning pieces of fabric scattered all over the yard.

Aurora could only look at the devastation her actions had caused with a guilty look and her wand behind her back. "Glossaryck was right, I was not ready for more than I could handle." She then turns to face Sam. "I'm sorry I caused this. I guess I got a taste of what my dad calls hubris."

Sam however, didn't look at all angry with Aurora. In fact, he actually looked pretty calm about the event. "It's cool, Aurora. I'm just glad this incident helped you evolve in both your training, and knowing when you've reached your limits."

Aurora could only smile at her friend's comment before turning the focus on the damage done to the yard. "We should probably get this cleaned up before my grandparents wake up and demand an explanation." she advised, Sam nodding in agreement. The two started working together to put out the fires all over the yard and quietly rebuild the fence.

The scene pans over to the house, where Aurora's bedroom light is somehow on. A small silhouette was shown at the window, and a zoom-in revealed it to be Glossaryck, who apparently had been faking being fast asleep and was watching the whole scene unfold the whole time. Surprisingly, like Sam, he didn't look mad that Aurora disobeyed him, but instead bore a calm smile at the princess for learning her lesson from this experience.

"She's Star's daughter after all." he said to himself, and the scene panned over to show a picture hanging on the wall next to Aurora's desk, a picture of a young Aurora hugging her mother, Queen Star.


	5. The Phantom Mewnace

The Phantom Mewnace

* * *

Harmonious music was heard playing as we get a view of the family portrait of both Star and Marco and their daughter Aurora. The frame was rectangular and styled similar to those in the Victorian era, and adorned with a diamond stone at both the top and the bottom of the frame. On each side was a sun with a star inside, both embraced by a red crescent moon underneath and surrounded by angels. And above the picture were the words "Blessed by Moon" written on it. The view then panned downward to show Queen Star and King Marco in the dinning room talking with their daughter Aurora via the magic mirror.

"So Grandma and Grandpa have been helping me learn how Earth works so I can fit in, and Glossaryck and Sam have been helping me improve my skills with the wand and hand-to-hand combat to help me defend myself." Aurora told her parents about how she's been doing away from home.

"We're happy to hear that, Sunbeam." Marco said to her daughter, feeling proud of her accomplishments. Aurora beamed with happiness at her father's compliment, only to then bear a look of sadness soon after, something that her parents took notice of.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Star asked concerned.

"Well, it's just... It's been a few weeks since I started settling in with Grandma Angie and Grandpa Rafael, but I'm feeling a little homesick." Aurora explained with a heavy heart. "When can I come back home?" she slightly whined.

"I'm sorry, dear, but Mewni still isn't safe until we find the person responsible for shooting that arrow." Star replied with regret. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer." She then put on a serious expression. "So until the culprit is caught, you are forbidden to leave Earth under any circumstances. Understand?"

Aurora gave a sad sigh in defeat, knowing she can't change her mother's mind. "Yes mom." The two then pushed the buttons on their respective mirrors and hung up.

Just after ending the call, Star suddenly removed her mask of tranquility and started bursting in tears, which Marco looked at with a sad expression. Despite not showing it, both of them did miss their daughter every day, and really do wish to allow her to return to their arms.

"Oh Marco, I can't believe how apprehensive I'm being towards her!" Star confessed to her husband with tears still in her eyes. "I worry about her every day due to not being there when she needs me! Now I know how my mother felt when I went and got into trouble."

Marco was quick to react and calm his wife down. "Don't worry, honey. Everything will be fine." he tried to reassure her. "We'll find out whoever's responsible for this and bring them to justice. Then we can let Aurora come back home."

This was enough to lift Star's spirits a little as she dried her eyes and managed a smile at her husband's confidence in themselves. She saw how it was coming from the fact that Marco remembered how much of a good team they were back when they were young, and believed that same teamwork could uncover this outrageous crime against the royal family. Star leaned forward to give him a gratifying peck on the cheek for his strong belief in them, which Marco lightly blushed to.

"We should head to the meeting with the Lords and Ladies of the Royal Council." Star suggested, with Marco nodding in agreement. The two of them walked out of the room holding their hands together.

* * *

The Mewnisters of the Royal Council sat in the council chamber waiting for the king and queen to arrive for their weekly meeting. The council consisted of the Lords Falcon Redbird, Jordan Fields, and Percy McKnight, and the Ladies Juniper Forest, Jasmine Flowers, Marine Waterson, Ruby Stone, Berenice Firefly, and Carice Cross. There was another mewnister that was part of this council, Ludo Avarius, who represents the House Avarius, the noble house responsible for establishing monster rights in the kingdom. Unfortunately, Ludo was absent from the meeting due to being on bad terms with the other mewnisters, and his brother Dennis, who he trusts to represent him at these gatherings, was also absent today.

The doors soon opened to show the king and queen had finally arrived and took their seats at the table. "Sorry we're late, we had another meeting elsewhere that took a while." Star apologized. "But now that we're here, we can discuss a certain event that has troubled us since day one."

"Yes. I cannot believe someone would do something so terrible as try to kill your beloved daughter." Jasmine openly stated.

Star and Marco felt surprised that she already knew that. "How did you know that already?" Star asked a bit suspicious.

"The incident wasn't really kept secret, Your Majesty. Word quickly spread to the other houses." Ruby defended, easing the queen's suspicion.

"I for one find the idea of trying to attack a member of the royal family a serious act of treason." Marine said with a scowl. "Whoever it was that fired that arrow should be found and brought to stand trial for their crime!" she then loudly declared, with Jasmine, the Lady of the House of Flowers, the family responsible for enforcing justice in the kingdom, nodding in agreement with a straight face.

"And I assure you, Lady Marine, we will do that." Star supported calmly. "But for that to happen, we first need to investigate for any leads that will help us find our little traitor. Therefore, I advise us all to organize a search for any clues to give us any hint of who this attacker is. Are there any among you who disagree with this?" she asked her court, all of whom shook their heads in response, agreeing with the queen's decision. "Then meeting adjourned."

With that said, all the nobles got up from their chairs and headed out the door to return to their respective houses so they could do their part in the investigation. Juniper was the last to leave. But before she did, she stopped and turned to face Star.

"Star, if it helps, I intend to pray every night that Aurora stays safe and sound for the day when she can finally come home."

Star could only give a small smile at the Lady of House Forest for her declaration. "Your concern for my daughter's safety is greatly appreciated." she said with a nod, with Juniper giving a curtsy back in respect. Then the two came together and gave each other a warming hug to give them good luck before Juniper turned and left the room, leaving the King and Queen alone with each other.

* * *

Star and Marco were seen taking a stroll around the garden. The roses were in bloom and were in a wonderful shade of red. Star could really admire seeing the beautiful flowers as she managed a smile

"It looks like someone's feeling a bit better." Marco teased wiggling a finger against his wife's cheek, making Star giggle as she playfully swatted his hand away.

"Yeah, I do feel a little better." Star sighed. "But I still wish she was back with us." she softly whined. Star then began to think back to the times she spent with Aurora when she was very young: the time when she took her first steps in the garden, the time when her mother gave Aurora Toggy for her birthday, the time she saw her daughter fall and cry when she was five, and the time when she told her a fairytale about babies coming from corn cobs.

Marco took notice of this and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know how hard it is to wait. And I know how it feels to have to part with someone you care deeply about. When you left for Mewni during our End-of-the-School-Year Party, I felt nothing but sadness from seeing my bestest friend leave. But, I believed you would eventually find a chance to come back, so I left all the decorations up and tried to be patient." Star recalled seeing that with the All-Seeing Eye spell, but chose not to mention it and let her husband continue. "We just need to be patient, Star. Soon we'll find whoever fired that arrow and catch him. When that's done, we'll be able to let Aurora know she can come back."

Star put on a smile at Marco with tears in her eyes, happy at how much her husband believes in their teamwork and knowing how to lift her spirits. She got up and entered Marco's open arms and engaged in a passionate hug, the both of them melting in each other's arms. The tender moment soon ended when the garden gates opened by Lord Falcon Redbird coming into the garden to talk to the two monarchs, causing Star and Marco to break the hug.

"Lord Falcon Redbird, do you have something to report?" Star asked in a formal manner.

"Yes, my queen." Falcon responded just as formal. "A certain calzone salesman in town claims to have seen something on the night before the princess' birthday. And the local blacksmith on Eager Street could examine the arrow the princess brought to you."

Star found this to be good info. "Thank you, Lord Redbird." she said with a nod. "Me and my husband will look into these."

"My queen, I advise you to be careful." Falcon cautioned. "When word of the assassination attempt on Princess Aurora's life reached town, it caused the division between mewmans and monsters to reignite, albeit only slightly."

Both Star and Marco understood the problem and gave a calm nod to Falcon before retreating into the castle and up to their room. There they donned some civilian attires to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. Marco grabbed the arrow from the cupboard and the two made off to town.

* * *

Mewni was shown to have gone through some great changes since Star took the throne, as it now has some features from Earth's modern society. The streets are now paved instead of being made of gravel, and there are now street lamps that use glowing magic crystals for public lighting. The houses of the common folk were renovated to look more modern yet still retain their medieval architecture, and there are several markets scattered around town, putting an end to the widespread poverty that filled the streets years ago. Negotiations between Mewni and Pixtopia have also allowed the kingdom to possess internet, mirror phones, and cable TV. Schools were also brought into Mewni to help educate the children. Some say that Star made these changes as a way to make her husband feel more at home on Mewni, but she's disclaimed that reason.

Taking a stroll through town, Star and Marco took glimpses around to see that Falcon was right: the attempt on Aurora's life has caused a tear in the harmony Star worked so hard to make between mewmans and monsters, with civilians from both sides accusing the other for the incident.

"Of course you're gonna pin the blame on us, because that's what a vengeful monster would do to draw suspicion away." a young mewman man growled with a finger pointing to a monster that resembled a female satyr.

"Ah, I can't believe you'd accuse us monsters of trying to kill the princess after her mother kindly welcomed us into your society!" the offended satyr girl snapped back. The two turned away from each other and walked off in a huff.

Star and Marco could only look on with worried expressions after seeing that. "If we don't find our daughter's killer anytime soon, this division could only get worse." Star said to her husband. "I think we can get more done if we split up. I'll go to the calzone diner while you go to the blacksmith." she then suggested.

"Good idea."

With that, the two split up to find answers. Star to the calzone diner and Marco to the blacksmith.

* * *

Star makes her way to the diner where they sell calzones that predict when you're gonna die. There, she spots the man she came to see: the owner of the place.

"Excuse me." Star coughed, getting the man's attention. "But I believe you have some information that might be of interest to me."

The owner looked at Star more closely and was able to recognize her. "Oh yes. But we best discuss that inside my private chamber." he advised. He led the disguised queen into the building and straight into his personal chamber, locking the door behind him and closing all the windows and blinds to ensure their talk wouldn't draw attention to the queen.

"Now, can you tell me what it is you saw on the night before Aurora's birthday?" Star asked calmly.

"Well, it all started like this." the manager started telling. "I was busy cleaning my diner when I saw what looked like two hooded figures snooping around the front of my store that night. I heard them talking about the princess, but couldn't really hear anything else. After that, they just walked off. I remember some of the royal guard arriving shortly after with a carriage full of good food."

"Hm, that must've been the food Aurora asked to be given to the poor part of town." Star said in thought before getting back to the subject. "May I ask? Did you see which direction these hooded figures were going?"

"Why yes." the manager replied. "They were going in the direction of the forest."

Star felt satisfied with what she learned and got up from her chair. "Thank you, sir." she said with a bow, the man bowing back in respect. Leaving the diner, Star knew where to turn to next.

"I think I should see Lord Oak and Lady Juniper of House Forest next."

* * *

Meanwhile, Marco had made his way to the local blacksmith, passing by more monsters and mewmans accusing each other of the attempt on Aurora's life. Marco found this sad to see, after all that Star worked so hard to undo centuries of hatred and prejudice, this incident has caused a fracture in that work. He had to help solve this case before it becomes beyond repair. Entering the shop, Marco laid eyes on the blacksmith pounding on a piece of metal in the form of a sword.

The king gave a cough to get the man's attention. And the blacksmith gasped in awe when he recognized him. "King Marco!" He dropped his hammer in surprise at seeing the king despite being in disguise. "What are you doing here?"

"Have you heard of the incident my daughter had with an arrow that almost killed her?" Marco asked calmly, the blacksmith saying "Yes." in response, as everyone else has heard the news, why not him? Marco reached behind him and pulled out the arrow to present to the blacksmith. "I was hoping you could find something about this that could give me some hints about what we're dealing with."

Taking the arrow, the blacksmith brought it close to his face to get a good look at it. On close inspection, he didn't really see anything unique about it... until he noticed something about the arrowhead.

"Oh, wow."

"What is it?" Marco asked.

"The metal this arrowhead is made of is something extraordinary." the blacksmith gasped removing it and showing it to the king. "It has grooves that look naturally formed and are in a pattern similar to reptilian scales. In all my life as a blacksmith, there's only one metal I can think of that matches this... ohpidian steel. A type of metal that's so rare on Mewni to the point of being non-existent"

Marco found this information satisfying enough for him, now knowing something about whoever they're up against. "Thank you, blacksmith." he said with a bow, the blacksmith bowing back in respect before the king turned and left.

Wanting to learn more about ophidian steel, Marco set his sights of the Firefly Library, the home of the Noble House of Firefly, the family in charge of influencing culture around the kingdom. That idea in mind, Marco turned to the kingdom's northwest district, where Firefly Library could be found.

* * *

Star found herself finally reaching the Forest Watchtower, the abode of the House Forest. It was a wooden mansion with a huge tower connected to it and had the roofs and walls covered in creepers. It was far east of the kingdom at the border between it and the Forest of Certain Death, standing atop a hill to make it possible to see both the kingdom and the forest from the tower. The Queen knocked on the door three times and waited for a short while before it was opened by young lord Pine.

"Thank you, Pine." she said grateful while walking in and confronting Lord Oak and Lady Juniper, along with their daughter Maple, all four nobles bowing and curtsying in respect.

"My queen, what brings you here?" Oak said in a formal manner, remembering to respect her authority.

Star only brushed off his need to be formal. "There doesn't have to be any of that, Lord Oak. You can call me by my name when we're not working on political matters. After all, since our kids act like family to each other, we can act as such too." she pointed out.

Oak found himself hastily putting himself together before calming down. "Sorry, Star. It's an old habit that's been done throughout our family's history, and all the queens before you recommended it." Star gave a small nod in response, knowing how true that was, before Lady Juniper stepped in.

"What brings you here, Star?"

"Ah, yes." the queen remembered. "I need your help with something. An employee at the calzone diner told me of two hooded figures he believes were involved with the attempt on Aurora's life, and how they wandered into the forest. I need to see if your All-Seeing Eyes got a good glimpse of them." she requested.

"Anything to help the princess." Juniper smiled with her head up high.

The heads of the house began escorting Star around the mansion until they came to a large door, opening it to reveal a room that looked similar to a monitor room, but with a magic mirror instead of a TV monitor. Juniper turned it on so they could check the recordings of every Eye before finding what they were looking for on number ten, two suspicious-looking figures in hooded cloaks walking through the forest. This confirms the seller's story to be true. Unfortunately, it wasn't able to get a good view of their faces due to being too far from them, much to Star's disappointment.

Juniper turned off the mirror before turning to the queen in sadness. "I'm sorry we couldn't get any better views of those suspects to help narrow your search." she sighed.

Star only brushed off her disappointment. "It's okay, Juniper. We just need to keep an _'_ _eye'_ out for anyone like them." she advised, laughing a little at the joke she unintentionally made there before putting her calmness back on. "Thank you for your help, Forests." she said with a slight bow before turning to leave.

"Rest assured, Star, we will help as much as we can to find these miscreants." Juniper expressed her support, making Star give a smile back to her as she left.

* * *

Marco had made it to the Firefly Library, the home of the House Firefly. It resembled a classic mansion that had a tower connected. This tower is the symbol of the family's name because it houses large swarms of fireflies that the nobles release at night. these fireflies swarm around the top with their glow, making the tower like a lighthouse. Marco pushed the doors open to show that the inside had a pinkish hue to the walls with spade-shaped windows for better lighting and pink and blue tiled floors. as expected for a library, much of the rooms had tall bookshelves filled with books of all kinds.

Marco took notice of Lady Berenice Firefly organizing the books on a shelf and walks over to her. "Ahem." he coughed

Berenice turned at the sound and found it came from the King. "Oh, King Marco!" she exclaimed before giving a curtsy. "What brings you to the Firefly Library?"

"I went to the blacksmith and let him study the arrow that tried to impale my daughter." the king replied. "It turns out there was something interesting about it: The arrowhead was made of ophidian steel. I came here to see if your family had a book with any more info on it."

"Oh, well, we'll see." Berenice gasped in awe at the king choosing to come here for information. With that, the two began searching all the bookshelves for any kind of book with knowledge on ophidian steel. The search had taken most of the day, and none of the books Marco checked so far had anything about what he was looking for.

"Fairy Encyclopedia, the Book of Dragons, Ancient Civilizations of the Universe." Marco put the books back on the shelf in disappointment. "I just can't seem to find the right one!"

"Um, my king?" Berenice tapped him on the shoulder and got his attention. "I think I may have found something." She presented him with a book she found in one of her house's remote sections.

"Rare Elements of the Universe?" Marco read the title with interest as Lady Firefly gave it to him. Sitting down on one of the many chairs in the library, Marco opened the book and searched through the pages for anything about ophidian steel, finally finding it on page fifty six.

"Ah, here we are. _Ophidian steel is one of the rarest and most sought-after metals in all of Mewni. The only known amount ever found in Mewni's history consisted of only two pounds, no such other deposits have been found. However, it was discovered that..._ " Marco stopped when he saw what the rest of the page said and only stared at it.

He gave the book back to Berenice and got up from his chair. "Thank you for your assistance." he said with a bow, Lady Firefly curtsying back as the king walked out the building.

* * *

It had just become sundown back at the palace, and Star and Marco were preparing for bed after a long day of searching for answers to the attempt on their daughter's life. As they did that, Star decided to share some of the information she gathered.

"I managed to find out about some hooded figures the calzone salesman saw that may have been involved with trying to kill Aurora." she told her husband. "Did you manage to find anything?"

Marco looked at her wife with an uneasy look before letting out a sigh. "The blacksmith found the arrowhead was made of a rare metal called ophidian steel." he said with sadness in his voice.

Star however, could tell that his expression meant there was something else he found out, and didn't want there to be any secrets between them. "Marco, is there something else you learned? I think you should tell me everything." she calmly insisted.

"Well, I also learned that this particular metal is exclusively used by those in the Guild of Assassins." Marco said with a heavy tone.

Star's irises shrank at the mention of that name. She's heard tales of that guild, a secret society of people trained in many forms of combat and how to use them to assassinate any targets, as well as anyone that stands between them and said target. But that's not what scared Star the most about this.

"But from what I've heard, the Assassins Guild doesn't attack someone for no reason."

"That's right, they only do so when they're hired by someone." Marco muttered. "This tells us that there's someone out there that has something against our daughter."

This information felt too much for Star to handle, and he suddenly felt weak in her knees, forcing her on the bed. Marco noticed this and felt regret for telling Star, knowing this was how she'd react to the news that someone was out there wanting to kill her daughter and hiring someone from the Assassins Guild to do it. He decided to try and help calm her anxiety, with something he knows makes her feel better.

"Hey honey, I know something we can do to help get your mind off this." he said putting his wife's head on his lap, with Star sounding a bit skeptical about it. "I somehow doubt it will help."

The scene shifts to show that Marco's idea was enjoying a movie with a bowl of nachos to eat, like they once did in their youth. Star turned her head and gave a smile to her husband, telling him that this is something that she really needed to calm her nerves.


	6. Banana's Witchcraft Store

Banana's Witchcraft Store

* * *

It was a sunny day at Echo Creek, and at Britta's Taco, Aurora and Sam were seen sitting at a table, most likely having lunch here. Aurora hadn't even touched her taco yet, as she was too focused on polishing the crystal on her necklace. Sam however, was shown eating his taco with pleasure.

"These are so good." he praised. "But to tell the truth, they feel a bit small in my opinion. If only there was a way to make them bigger." he wished.

Aurora didn't seem to listen however, as she kept her eyes glued to her crystal. Pulling out her wand, the princess put it over the crystal and a charged battery icon came on the faceplate. Aurora saw the wand read a 57 percent on the crystal's brightness level. Aurora sadly tosses the last piece of her cleaning products into a nearby trash can, one that was already filled to the brim, and sank her face in the table in disappointment.

Sam looks at this with a raised eyebrow, not really understanding why Aurora was going through all this. "You already spent over a hundred dollars on cleaning products. Don't you think you're overdoing it a little." he asks her.

Aurora raised her head and looked at Sam with an annoyed look. "You probably didn't know this, Sam, but this crystal on my neck acts as another kind of protection. It keeps interdimensional portals from opening anywhere near me." she told him. "And the strength of that power depends on how bright it is. And if it loses that brightness, it'll stop working, which will leave me at the mercy of whoever it is that shot that arrow at me!" With that said, the princess rested her head back on the table.

Sam took a moment to think about how to fix this before suggesting, "Why not use a spell to clean it?"

"I would, but I don't wanna risk breaking the crystal in the process." Aurora replied. She then let out a defeated sigh. "What's the use? I don't even have the proper cleaning tools. Magic crystals can only be cleaned by magic cleaning products. And where in the Earth Dimension am I going to find any of that?"

A loud scream was suddenly heard and the two turned to see that it was a woman and her son running away from what looked like a pumpkin with an unfriendly face. Not wanting to see anyone get hurt, Aurora quickly leaped out of her chair and aimed her wand at the killer pumpkin.

 _"SUPER SUNFLOWER DEVASTATION!"_

A ray of burning sunflowers shot from the wand and struck the pumpkin, bursting it on impact, revealing it to be just a balloon. Aurora recognized that kind of product. "That was an assorted pet pumpkin balloon. They can be made to either love or kill its owner. Those kinds of items can only be found at magical item stores like Quest Buy." That in mind, she went over to the woman and her son she just saved.

"Thank you, young lady." the woman thanked Aurora, the princess giving a respectful curtsy in return before asking her a question. "Can I ask you something? Where exactly did you get that kind of product?"

"Oh, that thing? It came from a shop that's just around the corner." she said with frustration, already regretting buying the darn thing. "If you're smart, you'll be better off staying away from there." she advised as she started leaving with her son in tow.

With this knowledge in mind, Aurora turns to Sam with an excited expression. "Sam, this place may have the cleaning product I need." she said enthusiastically. But Sam felt a little wary after what he just saw with the pumpkin balloon and the woman's warning. "I don't think it's a good idea, Aurora. That place could have other dangerous things like that pumpkin."

"Sam, didn't you hear what I said about the crystal losing its brightness?" the princess reminded him. "If it goes out, it'll be easier for that runaway killer to find me."

"Yes, but I'm also worried about what else that shop will have." Sam tried to counter.

Aurora decided to end this now and said with a serious tone, "I'm going regardless, so as my bodyguard, you have to protect me where ever I go, even to this magic store. And if You don't wanna come, then that's fine with me."

Sam let out a sigh on defeat, knowing he won't change Aurora's mind. "Alright, you win." he sighed. With that, the two began walking along down the street to where the woman said this magic shop was found.

* * *

Upon reaching the place, they saw it as like any other market store. Looking up, they saw the sign on the roof in large numbers.

"Banana's Witchcraft Store." Aurora read. "Must be a new business."

The two entered the store to see all its shelves stocked with all sorts of magical items. There were many here that Aurora recognized, such as Pear Grenades of Anguish, Scary Garden Dwarves, and Rememballs. She looked all over the shelves for any sign of the crystal cleaners she needed, but couldn't find any place they would be.

"Looks like we're gonna need to ask the manager for help." she finally decided. She and Sam went over to the counter at the back of the store and rang the table bell for service.

"If you're an unsatisfied customer coming for his money back, you might as well forget it. I don't take returns." a feminine voice was heard screaming from behind a veil of beads hanging over the doorway behind the counter. Soon a hand came out and parted the beads and revealed herself to the princess and her bodyguard. Much of her was covered in a black cloak.

"I'm not looking for trouble." Aurora said a tad nervous. "I just came here to see if you had any crystal cleaners."

The mysterious figure came over to the counter to get a good look at these two new customers. She soon realized there was something familiar about the girl. "Wait a minute." she said when she instantly recognized who she was. "Aurora?"

Hearing her name made the princess jump back in fright and draw her wand at this mysterious figure, with Sam getting into a defensive position in front of her.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded.

The mysterious figure responded by opening up her cloak with her arms, revealing the store uniform underneath, and taking her hood off her head, showing her to have tan skin and dark blue hair. Aurora looked at her with a curious expression, feeling like she's seen her before.

"I didn't really expect you to recognize me right on the spot." the store owner said calmly with a smile. "After all, you were only a tyke the last time we met. I'm one of your parents' old friends. My name is Janna Ordonia."

Aurora gasped in surprise from hearing that name, as she now realizes who she is. "Aunt Janna?" she exclaimed with surprise. She was an old friend of her parents, who was so close with them that she considered her an honorary aunt. The princess quickly put away her wand and ran into her aunt's welcoming arms, hugging each other and laughing happily at seeing each other after so many years.

"You little sunburst." Janna chuckled playfully ruffling her niece's hair. "What are you doing here on Earth?" she then asked, curious why Aurora is here and not back on Mewni.

"It's a long story." Aurora replied with an embarrassed tone as she waved off Janna's question.

The front door opened and a woman with an angry look walked right over to Janna. "What kind of prank are you trying to pull?!" she said with frustration as she pulled a swimsuit out of her purse. "This swimsuit I bought for my daughter isn't helping her swim like it said it would. I want my money back!" she demanded.

"Maybe you should read the instructions." Janna countered in an angry tone.

"I did, but it still didn't work!" the customer shot back.

Aurora didn't like seeing people fight and took this moment to get between the two before it got any worse. "Excuse me? Maybe I can offer a suggestion." She turned to the customer. "If you need a swimsuit to help your daughter with swimming lessons, you should try one that's made with mermaid scales." She walks over to where said swimsuits hung and took one that was blue. "You should buy this one, since those made with blue mermaid scales are perfect for swimming in freshwater."

"Why, thank you, sweetie." the woman replied happily as Aurora gave her the swimsuit and smiled at her.

"There's a small problem though." Janna interrupted, not really wanting to be a killjoy. "Due to how highly valued mermaid scales are, they're fifty dollars more expensive than regular swimsuits." she said with a sad sigh.

Aurora quickly put some thought into this problem and instantly came with a solution. "Maybe you can return the swimsuit and get a thirty dollar discount, that way you'll only have to pay the difference instead of the full price." she then suggested to the customer.

"That actually sounds like a good idea." the woman said in agreement. Aurora turned to face Janna, who reluctantly agreed and took the swimsuit. She entered the trade credits and allowed the woman to buy the blue mermaid swimsuit at only fifty dollars, allowing her to leave satisfied.

Sam found himself amazed at Aurora's mathematical skills. "How did you solve that kind of problem?" he asked the princess.

Aurora looked at Sam and her Aunt Janna and just shrugged. "Since I'm going to be queen one day, I should be able to learn numbers to help with some of the people's problems. It was something I learned when I attended Mewni Royal Academy back home."

This made an idea suddenly pop in Janna's head. "You know, I think I have an idea that can benefit us both." she proposed. "You see, as that woman showed, my store has had a lot of unsatisfied customers, so business hasn't been really booming lately." She then came over and put her arms around Aurora and Sam's shoulders. "But maybe you guys can help me change that."

"How can we do that?" Aurora asked a bit confused.

"Simple. If you can help me improve the store's image, then in return I'll give you the cleaning products you're looking for at no cost." Janna replied. "I'm pretty sure I have some left in stock somewhere in the back."

Aurora took some time to think about this, and after checking the brightness level of her crystal, the level getting a bit lower, she agreed. "Alright. And besides, it'll be nice to spend some quality time with my aunt." she added in hugging Janna, her doing the same to her niece.

* * *

Throughout the day, Aurora and Sam worked hard at helping Janna improve the store's image and raise its popularity. Both of them were given a different assignment. For Sam, it was to dress up as the store's mascot, an anthropomorphic banana named Banana Jeff. From the deadpan look on his face, it was quite clear that Sam found this a little embarrassing. But he chose to endure this humiliation for the sake of Aurora helping her family. So as part of his assignment, he held up a sign that tells about the store's advertisement and gently waved it in the open, continuing to wear the "what did I do to deserve this?" expression on his face.

A woman soon passed by and took a good look at Sam, lightly chuckling under her breath from seeing him in that banana suit. "Hey buddy, you advertising for a big Dork Convention?" she mocked before walking off laughing, making Sam feel more annoyed.

"I really don't like that woman." he muttered under his breath.

Soon after, a woman with short brown hair, light skin, and light green eyes came by. "Um, excuse me. Is this Banana's Witchcraft Store?" she asked politely.

"Why yes it is." Sam replied putting down the sign and gesturing for her to come in, happy to finally meet someone who doesn't mock him.

The customer smiled at Sam's gentlemen behavior and entered the store, where the stocks were shown to now be more organized, courtesy of Aurora. The princess decided to organize the products by dividing them into sections based on their primary purpose. One section held all those that were meant for combat purposes, another was made of those that were used for gardening, another for exploring, and so on and so forth.

"Welcome to Banana's Witchcraft Store." Aurora greeted the customer while now wearing a work apron. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes." the woman replied with a smile. "I was hoping you had something that could help me with my hair and make-up."

Aurora instantly knew what kind of magical item could help with that. "I think I know something." She gestured for the customer to follow her and brought her to the shelf where she put all the magical items that help with styling. The item she had in mind was a silver hand-held mirror. "This is a Cinderella Mirror. You can use this to help you do your hair and make-up." she told the visitor. "But you should first ask the owner how it works before purchasing." she advised so she wouldn't get frustrated in the future.

The woman nodded and accepted the mirror and walked over to the counter, where Janna was seen sitting in her chair and reading a magazine while she waited for customers to come. On close inspection, the cover was a picture of a girl with light skin, mint green eyes, and long platinum blonde hair with an aqua streak on the left side wearing different outfits and holding different kinds of boards in each one's arms.

"Excuse me." the woman said getting Janna's attention, And Janna quickly recognized her when she saw her face. "Chantal. Nice to see you." she greeted happily to one of her old friends.

"Thanks." Chantal replied shyly before holding out the mirror Aurora gave her. "I actually have an interest to buy this mirror, and one of your employees said to ask you how it works first."

"Now that's a wise decision." Janna said with a smirk. "All you need to do is visualize what kind of look you want in your mind while looking in the mirror and the magic will do the rest." she instructed. "You can test it out first if you want."

Chantal decided to do that and held the mirror in front of her face. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes and visualized the kind of look she wanted. When she opened them, she saw her hair now styled in a ponytail and had purple mascara around her eyes.

"It works." she said smiling.

"Glad to see my little helper picked wisely for you." Janna commented before getting to the cost. "That'll be fifteen dollars."

Chantal gave an okay shrug and pulled out her wallet, taking out the fifteen dollars and giving them to Janna. "Have a nice day." she said as Chantal left satisfied.

This process repeated itself throughout the day. Sam attracted customers with the sign and the costume, Aurora organized the shelves and guided customers to whatever it was they were looking for, and Janna instructed customers on how to use the products before they made the purchase.

* * *

When it became the late afternoon, the store's business hours came to an end, and Janna closed the cash register with a very positive balance. "Now that's what I call a job well done." she praised before turning to her niece and her friend. "All right, Squirt, a deal's a deal." She pulled out the crystal cleaners she promised from behind her back and tossed them to Aurora, the princess catching it and smiling joyfully.

"Thank you, Aunt Janna." she thanked.

"Don't mention it." Janna said playfully ruffling Aurora's hair before turning to Sam. "And since you showed the guts to wear the banana costume to help, you can also have something from the store free of charge."

Sam felt happy with this reward and wasted no time in searching for anything that interests him. Looking around the store, he soon came to a section of products that had a variety of unique purposes, also known as the miscellaneous section. Looking at the stuff in this shelf, Sam soon spotted something that resembles a megaphone. "What's this?" he asked interested.

"Now that's an interesting choice." Janna said coming over and taking one off the shelf to demonstrate. "It's a Magic Amplifier. It magically amplifies the size of whatever you put through it."

"Sweet." Sam said in awe as Janna gave him the amplifier. "This is so cool. Thanks, Janna." he thanked before he and Aurora went out the door and started walking home, Janna waving goodbye to them. "Feel free to come again." she hollered to her niece.

* * *

Back at the Diaz household, Aurora was seen sitting on the couch in the living room cleaning her crystal with the magic crystal cleaners, this time getting better results as the shard started glowing brighter when she was done. She took out her wand and checked the brightness level, this time with it at one hundred percent.

"Ah, Aunt Janna was my saving grace today." she sighed with relief before asking Sam, "Have you figured out what your new amp does?"

"I sure did." Sam replied with happiness. He demonstrated by setting the dial on the amp's side to two, then pulled out a taco and shoved it through the small end, which came out the other end twice as big. You were right, your aunt was our saving grace. Not only did she help you in getting your necklace's strength back, but she also helped me in making my tacos much bigger." He then took a bite out of the now-large taco, moaning with pleasure from the taste.

Aurora just shook her head with a smile and rolled eyes before putting something into thought. "I still wonder though, where do you think Aunt Janna is getting all those magical items? They're not something you can find on Earth."

"We might never know." Sam said continuing to eat the taco, Aurora choosing to come over and help him finish it.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the shop, Janna was seen coming out the back door leading into the alley behind it. Here is where she spotted a scissor blade come out of nowhere and cut open a dimensional portal, with a sloth clerk from Quest Buy came out, several others following with boxes in their hands.

"Hey guys. Nice to see you again." Janna greeted with a calm tone. "So is this my monthly stock?"

"If by stock, you mean the extra stuff we don't have any room for on our shelves? Then yes." the clerk answered in his classic deadpan expression before taking out a clipboard with a sheet on it. "Just sign here please."

Janna wasted no time in taking the pen he held out and signing her signature. With that, the sloths returned through the portal back to Quest Buy while Janna started bringing her new wares inside her store.


	7. Between Friends

Between friends

* * *

In Aurora's room, Aurora and Sam were looking through a page in the spellbook. The pictures helped explain how to do a spell that seemed to specialize in hypnosis, and the top of the page told that it was part of the chapter belonging to Skywynne, the Queen of Hours. The two of them were probably planning to have Aurora cast the spell on Sam to see if it would help him recover his lost memories.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" he asked the princess with concern.

Aurora continued looking at the instructions on Skywynne's chapter and then after putting much focus into it, managed to turn the bell of her wand into a clock face. "I'm pretty sure. I tested the technique out on my grandparents already." she answered. "Though there were details I learned about them that no one should ever know." she then shuddered. The two then got into position to try it out on Sam, Aurora let out a sigh to calm herself and prepared to cast the spell.

"Are you ready?"

Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell was heard, which caught their attention. Aurora suddenly gasped with excitement and squealed with enthusiasm. "She's here!" she cried happily as she ran downstairs to the door and opened it. The visitor was none other than her best friend, Princess Lavinia Ponyhead.

"Hey Rory." she greeted her bestie.

"I'm so glad you could come!" Aurora squealed with excitement.

While Aurora was happy to have her friend visit, Sam couldn't help but wonder how Ponyhead was able to come to Earth. "How did you even get here?" he asked.

"Well, I invited her here." Aurora shrugged. Sam didn't take this answer well and grabbed Aurora by the wrist and dragged her to a corner to talk privately.

"Aurora, don't you remember that you're not supposed to tell anyone about where you're hiding?" he calmly scolded the princess. "We don't want whoever's after you to get wind of where you're at and come her to try and finish the job."

"Relax, Sam." Aurora tried to calm him down. "It's just Ponyhead. And she's my best friend who would never tell anyone. Trust me, everything's fine. Besides, I invited her here because I wanted all three of us to hang out together. You know, as friends."

Due to how she acted the last time they met, Sam didn't have much hopes of that going well, and was about to argue when the two of them heard laughing coming from the living room. They came back to find Angie and Rafael sitting with Ponyhead on the couch.

"Oh, I can't believe how well-behaved you are." Rafael commented.

"Not to mention adorable." Angie added, with Ponyhead giving a formal nod in response.

Aurora couldn't help but giggle at this. She's known Ponyhead most of her life and knew full well that she was only pretending to behave, because that's what she does when around adults besides her parents and even her own mother. But whenever they were alone, she reveals to be just as wild and untamed as her mother was back in her youth. Sam however, only frowned at this display of false formality.

After Aurora's grandparents left, the princess came and gave her best friend a warm hug. Ponyhead was caught off guard at first, but soon joined Aurora in laughing at how great it is to see each other.

"So, A-Fly, you ready to get your groove on?" Ponyhead then asked excitedly, Aurora replying with an excited nod. Sam on the other hand, wasn't really that thrilled with going out today.

* * *

The first place Aurora decided to go to was the doughnut shop, to show Ponyhead some of the things she saw on her first day on Earth. As Aurora showed Ponyhead the donuts, Sam decided to keep an eye on their visitor, still feeling uncomfortable with having someone outside the Earth dimension knowing where the princess of Mewni was hiding besides her parents.

"Why do humans even put the holes in these things?" Ponyhead asked, though Aurora just answered, "I don't know." Aurora soon felt nature calling. "I'm gonna need to use the bathroom. You two play nice." she told her two friends as she left.

As soon as she left, Ponyhead decided to confront Sam on something and quickly got in his face. "Listen here, we are not gonna be besties. You know why? Because I don't buy your little story of losing your memories." she said menacingly. "Rory's my best friend, so let me make one thing perfectly clear that you won't ever be able to forget even if you tried. You do anything to hurt her, then I'll let you know how sharp a unicorn's horn really is." she said menacingly pointing her horn at Sam's face.

Sam however, didn't seem all that frightened. "You know what I think? I think you're jealous." he instead said mockingly.

"What? Me, jealous?"

"Yeah, jealous that Aurora's spending more time with me than with you."

This made Ponyhead feel like she was being challenged, but wasn't able to counter back by the time Aurora returned. She quickly got under Sam's arm and the two pretended to laugh with each other like they were buds already, much to Aurora's joy at seeing them getting along.

"It's so nice to see you two not fighting." she praised. "What are you laughing about anyway?"

"Oh, Sam was just telling me about this game that's suppose to be tons of fun." Ponyhead explained before turning back to Sam. "What'd you call it again?"

"Bowling." Sam replied.

* * *

The three were soon at the bowling alley, with people being seen having a good time playing the game. As Sam was getting his bowling shoes on, he was watching Aurora explain to Ponyhead how the game works.

"So, the goal of the game is to knock down as many of those pins as you can with your ball." Aurora explained showing one of the bowling balls. "And if you can knock down all ten on your first try, that's a strike." She then decided to demonstrate how it's done and calmly got into position, slowly pulling the ball back and preparing to let go. In an instant, Aurora got the ball rolling, it going in a straight line towards the front pin. In a quick crash, the ball had managed to knock down all the pins except for the ones at the far end corners.

"Oh, a seven/ten split." Sam cringed. "Knocking down both of them at the same time is gonna be tough to do."

"What? Are you kidding?" Ponyhead replied in disbelief. "Tough is just how me and A-Fly like it." she boasted, Aurora giggling softly before picking up another ball.

Taking a deep breath, Aurora let go of the ball and sent it rolling straight towards the seventh pin. The angle of the ball caused its collision to bounce the pin to the other one and knock them both down, earning Aurora a spare. Aurora leaped with joy while Sam and Ponyhead looked with surprised expressions on their faces.

"Okay, I'll admit, Aurora's got talent." Sam praised before turning to Ponyhead. "Why don't you go next."

Ponyhead didn't even seem nervous, but gave a small smirk and used her magic to levitate the ball so she could use it. Pulling the ball back, she quickly released it and got it rolling at the pins, which scored a strike, much to bot Aurora's surprise and Sam's shock.

Ponyhead turned back to Sam with a wide smirk on her face. "I think it's your turn." she told him. Though she was most likely wanting to see him fail to score a strike and embarrass himself and let her have a laugh.

Not wanting to chicken out and satisfy her amusement, Sam decided to play along and picked up a ball and got into position. Taking a deep breath, he safely pulled the ball back and quickly sent it rolling down the lane. To both Aurora and Ponyhead's surprise, Sam scored a strike as well.

Sam turned back to the girls and gave a subtle smirk at Ponyhead, much to her hidden anger. The game went on normally from this point on, though Sam and Ponyhead acted a bit more competitive with each other while Aurora just focused on enjoying the game. The two competitors were able to score both strikes and spares, Aurora doing no different.

By the afternoon, the game was finished, with Sam and Ponyhead both looking exhausted while Aurora still feeling fine.

"Out of curiosity, what's the score?" Sam asked out of breath.

"Well, let's see." Aurora said going to the score board to check. "Times five, carry the one... What do you know? All three of us got the same results. It's a draw." she revealed, must to both Sam and Ponyhead's shock.

* * *

The three headed out the front door of the bowling ally, with Sam and Ponyhead secretly glaring daggers at each other while Aurora's back was turned, but quickly switched to wide grins when she turned to face them.

"Was it my imagination or were you two being a little fierce with each other?" she asked in a suspicious manner.

"What? No. We must've just got into the game a little." Sam said nervous.

"Yeah, you know most games are more fun with a little competition." Ponyhead added in.

Aurora just giggled in response. "Oh, stop. I already knew it was that. I've known you most of my life, Ponyhead, so I know you like to do that every so often." she said, the two of them both sighing in relief.

"You know, I didn't really expect you guys to do so well on our first day out together." Aurora told her two friends, earning looks of confusion from them. "I know things have been a bit tense between the two of you, with Ponyhead not trusting Sam due to not knowing his backstory and Sam not liking Ponyhead giving him the cold shoulder. But you guys were able to ignore your issues and help me forget my problems with being away from home. Thanks, guys. You let me have the best day I've ever had since I left Mewni."

This left both Sam and Ponyhead at a loss for words. Sure they were secretly fighting with each other, but Aurora was trying to help them get along. This made them start feeling guilty for arguing all the time when Aurora was just trying to help ease the tensions. They both chose not to say anything and make her feel like her efforts were wasted.

"Let's go to the park and have some ice cream to celebrate." Aurora suggested and turned to head that way.

As soon as she left, Ponyhead and Sam looked to each other with guilt, the both of them feeling awful for fighting all the time behind Aurora's back without thinking about why she brought them together in the first place.

"Look, I understand you have no reason to trust me due to the both of us not knowing my past." Sam said to her. "But I want you to understand that I have no intention of hurting Aurora, not after she's going through so much to help me remember who I am."

"Yeah. I guess that's true." Ponyhead sighed. "And look, I may have gone overboard with the hostilities, but it's just because I'm a tad protective of A-Fly. You see, I've had to keep those noble snobs back on Mewni from picking on her since she was eight years old. And those jerks know how to use subtle means to make her feel bad. So, I guess I can put up with you a little, if only to make her feel happy." she said softly.

"Yeah, so can I." Sam said before having his hand out. "So what do you say? Truce?"

"Ponyhead hesitated briefly, but smiled and gently put her horn on his hand and the two shook on it. "Yeah, for Rory's sake."

With that, the two nodded and followed Aurora to the park in a more civil manner. The three were soon seen sitting on a park bench with ice cream cones in Aurora and Sam's hands and levitated by Ponyhead's magic while watching the sunset.


	8. Candy Crush

Candy Crush

* * *

Everyone in Aurora and Sam's class was seen riding on a buss today. Earlier today, Miss Skullnick told them she arranged for a field trip to Echo Creek's Opossum Nature Reserve. The bus soon came to a tunnel that was on the path to their destination as Aurora tried to cheer up a bored Sam with some info in her booklet explaining opossums.

"It's said that opossums are the only native marsupial in North America." she told him. "And that their habit of playing dead to avoid predators was the inspiration for the phrase, 'playing opossum.'" she said with a slight chuckle, managing to make even Sam and the rest of the class give a little chuckle at that.

All chuckling was soon ended when the bus reached the end of the tunnel, only for the class to find themselves falling into a gorge on the other side, screaming in fright. Aurora however, quickly pulled out her wand and cast a spell to save everyone.

 _"SUPER SUNFLOWER PARACHUTES!"_

Sunflower-shaped parachutes instantly formed on top of the bus and made it gently descend to the bottom of the gorge. Despite Aurora's quick spellcasting, the bus still hit the ground with a hard crash, leaving everyone slightly bruised and dizzy. Everyone wobbly stumbled out of the wrecked vehicle and regained their senses to gasp in awe at where they were. They had crashed into a valley with trees shaped like lollipops and could see a river of soda. In the sky they could see clouds that were pink instead of white, most likely made of cotton candy.

"I could be wrong, but I think we're in the Candy Dimension." Aurora said shocked, before getting down to scoop some of the dirt with her finger and lick it; It tasted like chocolate powder. "Yep, definitely the Candy Dimension."

"But how did we even get here?" Sam asked confused. The two then scoped the area until they spotted something sparkling at the top of the valley's cliff. Aurora used the Telescope Spell to get a better look at it.

"There's a dimensional portal." she told everyone. "It must've been at the end of the tunnel we were driving through. But from what I see, it looks unstable, which means it could close any moment."

"Which means we need to get up their before that happens." Sam said. "Think you can Levitato us all up there?" he asked the princess.

Aurora only responded by rubbing her arm and looking at the ground with nervousness. "I'm afraid I can't, Sam. I don't even know if I have that much magic in me." she said in doubt before a thought came to her. "But we can use my dimensional scissors to make our own portal out of here." She reached into her pocket to pull out the scissors, only to realize they weren't there. She frantically dug around her pockets to try and find them. "Where are they, where are they?!" she cried before stopping when she remembered here they were. "Oh, that's right. I forgot them at home today."

"Well that's just great." Miss. Skullnick said irritated. "That means we're stuck in a world of sugar and spice with no way back."

"Let's not get ourselves down, Skullsy." Aurora tried to reassure. "All we need to do is reach that portal before it closes and we'll be home free."

"That seems to be our only option." Sam complied. "Though with the bus all jacked up, we may need to walk." he then said, much to the other students' annoyance.

* * *

The journey was gonna be long, and also very hard. While going through the lollipop forest was a walk in the park, going through a marsh of peanut butter and a field of geysers that shoot hot milk could be considered a bit challenging. Eventually the whole group reached what resembled a jungle with trees made of licorice and chose this as the perfect spot to take a rest after feeling their feet ache.

Sam soon heard a soft rumbling sound and soon realized it came from his stomach, telling him he's hungry. Not really having any other options, he decided to take a nearby licorice vine to eat. He was just about to bit into it when it was suddenly yanked away. He looked to see a giant gummy bear grabbing at the other end of the vine, and the two didn't hesitate in playing tug-o-war to try and claim the vine for themselves while Aurora and the rest of the class just stood and watched. Finally, Sam was able to pull the vine out of the gummy bear's hands and retaliated by using it as a whip to drive the screaming bear away.

"That's it, run away, Boo-Boo-Bear!" he mocked as the bear ran into the bushes while he took a triumphant bite of the licorice vine with a smirk.

Aurora soon came over with a worried feeling. "I don't think that's a good idea, Sam."

"Why not?"

Suddenly, the bushes all start shaking, and the class soon spots gummy bears popping out of them from all sides, wielding sugar candy spears in a threatening manner and ready to attack.

"Yeah, this is what I was afraid of." Aurora muttered under her breath.

Sam and Miss. Skullnick soon got into fighting positions, ready to take on these savage bears. "If you wanna get to my students, you'll have to go through me!"

"And me!"

The two parties were about to engage when Aurora suddenly jumped between them. "Wait, guys. Let me try reasoning with them first." she begged, Sam and Skullnick hesitating but allowing it in the end. The princess then turned to try and talk with the gummy bears, but barely stepped forward before they jumped back startled, much to her surprise.

"Well, that's unexpected." It got more unexpected when the gummy bears suddenly dropped their weapons and started saluting the princess, as well as bowing at her feet. "It's like they think I'm a goddess or something." she told her teacher and classmates, who were just as astonished as she was.

"Welcome, Cheek Goddess." a green gummy bear said to Aurora.

"Cheek Goddess?" Aurora looked at her cheekmarks, fully confirming that they did view her as some sort of deity. "Have we met before?"

Sam took this time to intervene and put a hand on Aurora's shoulder to get her attention. "Aurora, I know this may sound like a bad idea, but maybe these guys can help us reach the portal." he whispered. "Maybe you can use your 'divine influence' to convince them to help us get to it."

Aurora didn't feel like taking advantage of people, but after looking at her classmates still feeling a little tired from all the walking, and remembering the portals instability could make it close at any moment, gave in and agreed.

"Alright." she sighed and turned to the gummy bear tribe. "Excuse me. Me and my friends are actually kinda stuck here, and we're trying to reach a portal to get back home. Do you think you can help us get there?" she asked nicely.

"Of course, your goddessness. I know what it is you're talking about." the group leader replied. "But first we must take you to our refugee village, as we have a problem of our own." He then got up and gestured for Aurora and her friends to follow him and his party.

* * *

Upon arriving at the refugee village, Aurora and the others saw it looked no different from a small village. There were huts made of all different kinds of candy and it was protected by a wall made of caramel. But Aurora soon gasped when she saw in the center something that helped her understand why these people call her Cheek Goddess. It was a statue made of sugar candy that resembled someone that looked just like her, except she had crowns instead of suns, which helped her recognize who it was.

"Now I get it; These guys think I'm my ancestor, Cosmica the Explorer."

A red gummy bear then stood at the base of the statue, presumably the leader, and told Aurora their situation. "I am Raspberry Richard, chief of the Gummy Bears." he addressed himself. "And I will tell you of our problem. Long ago, when we gummy bears lived in our true home village, the tribe of gingerbread men came and drove us out, taking the land for themselves. Their reign lasted until a goddess with marks on her cheeks came out from a portal of light and helped us defeat the gingerbread men and reclaim our home. If memory serves me on the story, she had a little one with her, but with blue stars on her cheeks and blue hair. She wanted to take the past chief with her, but fortunately that was prevented."

"So why are you back here?" Aurora then asked.

"Well, just recently the gingerbread men managed to get through our defenses and took the village from us again." a red gummy bear explained. "That's why we need your help to get it back."

"Those lousy gingerbreads always think they're superior than us because they're made of ginger." the chief bear growled. "But everyone knows that it's candy made of gum that's the superior one."

"Well, before I decide, I think I should first see a map of the region. Could you please let me look at one?" Aurora asked nicely. Richard then ran into his hut made of gumdrops and came out with a map made of candy for Aurora to look at. After triangulating the locations of both the captured village and the portal, the princess put the map down and gave her answer. "Okay, We'll help you."

Everyone in the gummy bear tribe was quick to cheer with joy when she said that. Sam on the other hand, didn't feel like this was a good time to be helping people while their only way home was on the verge of closing forever. He came over and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and talk to her.

"Uh, Aurora? I know you want to help people, but I don't think we have the time for this." he quietly whispered.

"I know, Sam. But we also don't have much of a choice." Aurora told him and showed him and Mr's Skullnick the map. "From what I saw on the map, our path to the portal takes us through the village the gingerbread men captured. And I don't think they're gonna let us just walk through when they see me and most likely mistake me for Cosmica."

Sam took a while to process what Aurora just told him before giving in when he felt her reasoning made sense. "Fine, we'll help." he said, much to the gummy bears' excitement.

* * *

The class was soon walking through the lollipop forests alongside the gummy bear tribe, making their way to the village to fight the gingerbread men. Everyone was equipped with candy-based armor and weaponry in case it would come down to a fight. The gummy bears were armed with sugar candy spears and shields made of peppermint. They even rode on the backs of giant gummy worms to ride into battle. Miss. Skullnick had a battle ax made from a lollipop, while the kids were given swords made from candy canes.

It wasn't long when they reached the outskirts of the village the gummy bears were driven out of. Everyone was also able to spot the dimensional portal they came through and needed to get back home through, which was indeed getting smaller as Aurora suspected and could still close at any time.

Sam decided to talk to Aurora about what they're gonna do. "So what exactly is your plan for freeing the village?" he asked.

Aurora however, didn't even feel the slightest bit nervous and just let out a calming sigh. "I have a plan, but you need to trust me, Sam." she said putting a pleading hand on his shoulder, making Sam reluctantly give in and nod to say yes. Aurora then turned her attention to the gummy bear tribe, all snarling and waiting for the order to charge.

"I need you to listen. Before we enter the village, I require all of you to drop your weapons."

"What?!" the gummy bears cried in shock, Even Aurora's classmates felt awed by what she said.

"The Cheek Goddess known as Cosmica may have helped you in her way, but I intend to settle this matter once and for all in my own way." Aurora said with her voice very clear. The gummy bears felt reluctant to do as she told, but eventually did so and let go of their spears and shields, the class deciding to follow along, Miss. Skullnick feeling just as reluctant as the gummy bears. Aurora then gestured for everyone to follow her into the village.

When everyone entered the place, they all couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. Some of them started to feel worried that the gingerbread men would jump out and attack them.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Sam whispered to Aurora, who calmly whispered back. "Don't worry, Sam. I do."

Just then, noise could be heard coming from all directions, and everyone was soon startled by gingerbread men jumping out from every nook and cranny in the village. Everyone was completely surrounded and held at sugar candy spearpoint.

"Wait!" Aurora cried putting her arms out to call them off. "We came in peace. I wish to speak to the chief of your clan."

Hearing Aurora's request, the gingerbread men pulled back their spears. The ones in front of her then side-stepped out of the way to make a path to a large gingerbread front doors opened to reveal the leader of the gingerbread tribe. His appearance was unique compared to his followers. His frame was made to include a crown with pieces of candy for jewels and he had an icing mustache. He held a red lollipop for a staff and wore a cape that looked like it was made of cotton candy. Taking a closer look, Aurora could see small nicks on the edges of his frame and a peppermint in place of his left eye, signs of his time on the battlefield.

"Are you the chief of the gingerbread men?" Aurora asked in a calm manner, the chief nodding to say yes.

"I am King Gingersnap II." the lead gingerbread man introduced himself in a formal manner. "You must be the Cheek Goddess these gummy bears worship. Though you look different compared to your statue."

Aurora rubbed the back of her head with an embarrassed smile. "That's a long story. Anyway, I came here to negotiate between your clan and the gummy bears."

Hearing that, the gingerbread leader calmly snapped his fingers. One of the gingerbread men put a gumdrop table between all three of them ad others put gumdrop chairs for them to sit on.

"Now, what is it you want?" King Gingersnap asked calmly.

"We want you to end your occupation of our village and never return." Richard demanded. "This village was built by the gummy bears long ago. That means it's ours by right."

"That may be, Richard, but I'm afraid we cannot do that." the gingerbread king refused. "The land that this village stands on possesses many resources that can easily provide for my people. If we surrendered it and returned to the Gingerbread Mountains, we would not survive."

"But isn't that where your old home was?" Aurora asked confused.

"Yes, the other side of the Gingerbread Mountains was where the Cookie Kingdom was built, which the gingerbread men were a part of." Richard recalled. "But sadly, like our Gummy Kingdom and many others, it was destroyed in the Great Candy War."

"And when that happened, the surviving candy tribes saw the territorial borders between kingdoms as no more, making all the land up for grabs for everyone." King Gingersnap finished. "And when we saw this ecosystem rich with candy resources that we could use to help rebuild our civilization, we had to have it."

"The gummy bears were here first, King Gingersnap!" the gummy bear chief growled. "You should try somewhere else!"

"We can't do that!" King Gingersnap said. "Our old homeland can't support us recently, and the other tribes have already laid claim to nearly all of the best lands. If we don't settle somewhere, we won't make it!"

"Well you can't settle here!" Richard roared snatching a candy spear from a nearby gingerbread soldier. "Because like I said, we gummies were here first!"

Gingersnap was quick to react and held his lollipop scepter in a defensive position, ready to fight. "I should've known this would happen. You gummies will never change your ways and learn to share!"

"And you gingerbreads will never learn to stay out of our territory!" Richard shot back. At this, both tribes quickly picked up any candy weapon they could get their hands on and rushed to the side of their respective leader, ready to fight each other. Sam looked with worry, while Mr's. Skullnick held firmly to her lollipop ax, which she smuggled in without anyone noticing, ready to protect her students in case they two warring tribes accidentally turned their fighting on them.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to Aurora when she screamed like that, and the princess sat back down to continue discussing with the two leaders. "I get it, you both wanna help your people. But violence just can't be the answer. Maybe both your tribes could get through your hard times by working together."

"Are you joking?!" Richard said in outrage. "What good could come from gummy bears working together with gingerbread men?"

"I think great things could come from working together." Aurora said softly. "Because when two very different people come together, something wonderful is born." she told them, the memories of the stories her parents told her about their adventures since the day they met coming to her head to serve as an example. "Maybe if you two share the resources here, you both might be able to rebuild your kingdoms and maybe even establish a new one as well."

The two chiefs let her words sink in and sat down to think about it. For as long as they could remember, the two tribes have been fighting each other and all the other candy tribes since the Great Candy War. And while they fought, they left their workers in charge of rebuilding the kingdom while they secure areas with the right materials... The kingdoms, that's right! Every time they went to check on the progress of the reconstruction, they find it had barely begun because of the small amount of building materials they received. This made the two leaders realize that they've been too busy trying to keep the other from taking this land that they fought over that they barely gave anything for their builders to work with, and it's been going on for generations. The two then took a look at the surrounding areas and saw the large lollipop forests and chocolate swamps that they've been quarreling over and finally came to a decision.

"I guess this valley has more than enough resources for both our groups to share." Richard sighed.

"And I guess we were overdoing it with the hostilities." King Gingersnap agreed. "And maybe our friend is correct. Maybe we can work together to not only rebuild our kingdoms, but also make a new one to represent peace between our clans."

Raspberry Richard got up from his chair and held out his hand in friendship. "What do you say? Truce?"

The gingerbread king looked at the gummy bear's hand for a moment, before putting his own on it with a smile. "Truce." he said as they shook on it. This led to both the gummy bears and gingerbread men roaring with joy at the newfound peace.

"And you know, since we've been fighting over this village for so long, these houses are looking like a mix of both gum and gingerbread." Richard pointed out.

"Any thoughts?" King Gingersnap asked curious.

"Well, I think we should leave them as they are and make this village the spot to build the new kingdom." Richard told him.

"You know, that actually sound like a good idea." King Gingerbread liked it. "And we should call it the Candy Kingdom to symbolize the union it's suppose to bring between all the candy people."

"Fine by me." Richard said shaking hands with the gingerbread king again as the two tribes happily danced together, happy to no longer be fighting after so many centuries.

Aurora felt nothing but joy from seeing the diplomatic peace she created. "It's so nice to see these two getting along." she said to herself. "Maybe soon the other candy tribes'll join in, and eventually the Popsicle Kingdom too." Her happiness was suddenly interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw it was Sam.

"Uh, Aurora, I know it's cool that you made peace, but the portal back home is almost finished closing!" he told her pointing at the collapsing portal. Aurora was horrified. She had been so focused on the negotiations that she forgot about the portal leading back home.

"Okay, everyone, make a break for it!" she calls to her classmates. As fast as lightning, Miss. Skullnick and all the students were running towards the portal, all of them making it with much time to spare. After everyone else had made it through, Sam decided to go next. Before Aurora could follow, she heard the voices of Raspberry Richard and King Gingersnap II.

"Thank you, Cheek Goddess Aurora."

"We are forever in your debt."

Aurora smiled and waved goodbye before noticing the portal just seconds away from fully closing and quickly leaped through it before that happened.

* * *

Aurora had made it out of the portal seconds before it closed completely. Getting up, she and Sam saw they were on the side of the road just outside of the tunnel they were driving through.

"Okay, is everyone here?" she asked Miss. Skullnick, who counted all the students just to e sure before answering. "Yep, everyone's here."

"All right. Then we should probably head home." Aurora suggested. "Though we might need to make the journey on foot for a while. But maybe we can hitch a ride along the way."

Not really having much of a choice, the class started making their way through the tunnel back home. As they walked, one of the students, a girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail, felt like talking to Aurora about more of the Candy Dimension.

"Hey, Aurora?"

"Hmm?" the princess turned to see her classmate. "Oh, Sarah. Did you wanna ask something?"

"Well, color me curious, but I kinda wanna know more about all the kingdoms that were said to exist in that place." Sarah told her. The rest of the class felt uncomfortable with her request due to having just got out of there.

"Well, for starters, they were around long before my ancestor first set foot in that dimension." Aurora began. "Alongside the Gummy and Cookie Kingdoms, there was the Cake Kingdom, the Mint Kingdom, the Popsicle Kingdom, and probably many more. But sadly, none of those kingdoms got along. They were always arguing about which type of candy was better than the others, and it was only a matter of time before all that hatred led to the Great Candy War, which resulted in most of the kingdoms getting destroyed."

"Most?" that last bit got Sarah's attention. "Does that mean there's some that survived?"

"Well, one anyway." Aurora told her. "The Popsicle Kingdom, found deep in the Ice Cream Tundra. It's widely believed the secret of their survival was thanks to the large walls they built around their land."

By the time they reached the end of the tunnel, everyone heard the sound of an engine running from within it and saw a van coming out of it, just stopping right in front of them. On the side, the students saw it had the logo of the Echo Creek Opossum Nature reserve. The door opened to show on of the rangers in charge.

"Excuse me. Are you the class we were expecting to be at the reserve today?" he asked.

"Yes, but there was an incident that took us on a different field trip." Miss Skullnick said exhausted. "And I think it's made us have enough adventure for one day."

"Now we just feel like going home." Sarah said stretching her arms.

"I don't suppose you could give us a lift?" Aurora asked nicely.

"Sure thing. Hop on in." the ranger welcomed. And pretty soon the whole class was seated in the van and on their way back to school everyone resting comfortably in their seats, happy to not have to walk all the way there.

"Man, talk about an unexpected field trip." Sam said with his feet resting on the arm of his seat. "I didn't even know dimensional portal could open up on their own." he said to Aurora. Unfortunately, that comment made Aurora realize something ominous about their recent adventure. You see, there's an important detail about portals opening up by themselves.

"They can't."


End file.
